QURRATUL AIN MARYAM & SAYEDA NAYELA
In a recent article published in Newslaundry[1], author Noamankhan Pathan describes the burqa as a patriarchal tool used to control a woman’s body and restrict her interactions. He draws this conclusion largely from his personal experience where his mother was forced to wear the burqa her entire life, while she herself never felt inclined to do so.
In this response, we do not invalidate the experience of his mother or the many women who have gone through similar situations. Instead, we intend to present the Quranic perspective, and highlight how patriarchal elements have seeped into the framework of the hijab. We also aim to address the experiences of Muslim women and foster a deeper understanding of the issue by moving beyond the common rhetoric and stereotypical portrayal of women observing the hijab as ‘oppressed’.
Is the Quran a patriarchal text?
First and foremost, as a Divinely revealed scripture, the Quran establishes equality between men and women, irrespective of biological differences. As a general principle, the Quran states:
“But whoso does good works, whether male or female, and is a believer, such shall enter Heaven, and shall not be wronged even as much as the little hollow in the back of a date-stone.”[2]
This implies, all injunctions in the Holy Quran generally apply to both men and women. Hence, far from being a patriarchal text that burdens women while letting men roam freely, the Quran provides mutual guidelines.
The very verse that puts forth the injunction of purdah illustrates this. The Holy Quran primarily asks men to lower their gazes and exercise self-restraint.
“Say to the believing men that they restrain their looks and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Surely, Allah is well-aware of what they do. And say to the believing women that they restrain their looks and guard their private parts, and that they display not their beauty or their embellishment except that which is apparent thereof, and that they draw their head-coverings over their bosoms.”[3]
Thus, regardless of women’s attire, men are unequivocally commanded by the Holy Quran to control their gaze, as visual stimuli play a pivotal role in triggering sexual desires.
This injunction was exemplified by the Holy Prophetsa in his lifetime when a strikingly beautiful woman approached him seeking guidance on some religious matters. One of his companions, Al-Fadlra, began to stare at her because of her beauty. Noticing this, the Prophetsa caught Al-Fadl’s chin and gently turned his face to the other side so he would not stare at her.[4] Hence, nowhere does the Quran place the burden of modesty solely on the shoulders of women.
Moreover, the Quranic injunction addressing women to cover themselves is a religious obligation, not an enforceable practice. This means that men have absolutely no authority to force the hijab or burqa upon women. The Worldwide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community says:
“Men should remember that they have not been given powers to police others and should restrain themselves. It is not for them to cover the heads of women from outside. Men are commanded to restrain their eyes; they should fulfil their own obligations. There is no such commandment to forcibly cover the heads of Muslim women, let alone non-Muslim women. It is men like these who have hard-line ideas… who bring Islam into disrepute.”[5]
Thus, in Islam, pure intention and sincerity must be the motive behind any action, and compulsion does not provide such an incentive.
Burqa: A mobile prison?
Our way of dressing and the symbols we use to express ourselves evoke strong perceptions and emotions in others and can be interpreted differently based on their life experiences and ideological framings. The Islamic veil—whether burqa or hijab—is often seen as a symbol of women’s oppression, female subservience, patriarchal control, restricted autonomy, and deprived identity. Thus, criticism of Muslim women’s outer covering is always framed as a binary issue of power dynamics between women and men.
Such perceptions result in explicit laws or guidelines by governments, employers, and institutions that restrict the wearing of the hijab or burqa. It also leads to implicit media discourses that amplify the trend of unveiling by Muslim women.
Noamankhan follows the same narrative, arguing that the burqa acts as a ‘mobile prison’ for women, restricting their interactions and movements. In reality, however, it is the vast majority of Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab that face challenges at their colleges and workplaces for being in an attire labelled as ‘patriarchal’ and ‘oppressive’. Such people need to understand that it is never the attire but the social perception linked with it that limits women.
In 2022, Led By Foundation, a leadership incubator focusing on the professional growth of Muslim women, conducted a research project where it submitted a thousand applications for entry-level jobs with identical resumes under two different names: Priyanka Sharma representing a Hindu woman, and Habiba Ali representing a Muslim woman. For every two personal callbacks that Sharma received, Ali got only one. Ali also received fewer offer letters.[6]
Similar studies in other countries have also shown that Muslim women’s chances of landing a job would drop if the resumes featured an image of a hijab-wearing woman.[7] This excessive hiring bias and denial of jobs due to wearing the hijab are such implicit forms of exclusion that, in fact, oppress Muslim women and obstruct their growth.
Muslim girls in Karnataka have also demonstrated that hijab is not an impediment to their education. If anything, it was the ban on the hijab that was obstructing them. Such bans around the world are justified as liberating women, while they fail to explain how policing women’s dressing constitutes empowerment. Hence, as research shows, it is often the mindset of the media and society that silences the voices of Muslim women. Consequently, Muslim women who proudly choose to wear the hijab or burqa receive fewer opportunities compared to others because of the Islamophobic labelling of their attire as oppressive.
Islam has never prevented women from pursuing education or careers. Instead, it has always advocated for the empowerment and liberation of women. The injunction of the hijab was prescribed to facilitate their free movement and social integration whilst protecting their dignity and providing them safety from the vulgar male gaze. If Islam had intended to obstruct the movement of women and confine them within the four walls of the house, the need for the hijab would not have arisen at all. If this attire were truly a restriction on women, it would have been impossible for many women who observed it to acquire prominence in the world. The history and legacies of Muslim women across the globe prove that the burqa has never impeded their way to empowerment.
If at all there is an obstruction, it is only caused by those who seek to impose it or ban it. As such, hijab bans in France take away a woman’s agency in the same way the imposition of the hijab by the Taliban restricts their rights. Yet, it is unwise that society still tries to ‘save’ Muslim women by undermining their choice of attire and denying their rights under the guise of ‘liberation’, often through the lens of Western saviourism and white feminism[8].
As for those men who coerce the hijab upon women, it is only the true teachings of Islam that can free them from the cultural and patriarchal framework within which they understand their faith. Those men need to be taught the true essence of Islam where every person, male or female, is answerable only to God and no one else.
Burqa is a symbol of choice
Noamankhan argues that those who rally behind the burqa as a symbol of choice are actually endorsing the patriarchal systems behind it. Even when a vast majority of Muslim women choose it out of devotion, resistance, identity, and as part of their culture, he seems to give a generalised picture of Muslim women being held up in a patriarchal prison, without even realising it.
However, Noamankhan fails to explain why and how the hijab fails the standards of liberation and women empowerment. Is it simply because it goes against the ideas of Western modernity, or because it privatises a woman’s sexuality? The truth is, such views are a result of the colonial mindset for which every ‘other’ is oppressive and barbaric.
In a study that analysed thirty-five years of reports from The New York Times and The Washington Post, it was found that journalists are more likely to report on women living in Muslim and Middle Eastern countries if their rights are usurped but are more likely to report on women in other societies when their rights are respected.[9] Thus, this constant battle against the hijab is a result of employing selective feminism and gender politics across mass media and colonial projects.
Towards the end of his article, Noamankhan suggests that if all women give up wearing the burqa, the patriarchal powers would lose a tool of oppression and would not be able to maintain their authority and control. However, by sharing a male fantasy of a world with no burqa, the author seems to be in the same camp as those men who coerce the hijab on women.
To conclude, Muslim women are tired of having to justify the Islamic attire as their personal choice. Ironically, this modest loose clothing is often criticised as being rooted in patriarchal framework, while forms of clothing that objectify women in the fashion industry are rarely called out for what they are: a means of satisfying the male gaze.
If the article merely aims to make women feel more embarrassed of their attire by excluding it from the fold of modernity, then the author needs to systematically change his mindset.
Oppression comes in many shades, and for Muslim women, wearing the burqa to shield themselves from the male gaze is their way of resisting the oppression. This is an act of bravery as they choose an attire clinging to their own concept of femininity rather than adhering to the dictums of Western modernity.
Qurratul Ain Maryam holds a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning and is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy at IIM Bangalore.
Sayeda Nayela holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Ravenshaw University, Cuttack. She is a regular contributor for Light of Islam.
END NOTES
[1] The Burqa Paradox: Feminism’s Blind Spot amid Patriarchal Impositions, Noamankhan Pathan, Newlaundry, 17 September 2024
[2] Holy Quran 4:125
[3] Holy Quran 24:31-32
[4] Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Istizaan (The Book on Asking Permission)
[5] Friday Sermon September 5, 2014
[6] Hiring Bias: Employment for Muslim Women at Entry-Level Roles, Ruha Shadab et al. (2022), by Led By Foundation
[7] Discrimination Unveiled: A Field Experiment on the Barriers Faced by Muslim Women in Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, Mariña Fernández-Reino et al. (2023), European Sociological Review
[8] The War on Muslim Women’s Bodies: A Critique of Western Feminism, Maheen Haq, Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, 17 January 2022
[9] Islamophobia and Media Portrayals of Muslim Women: A Computational Text Analysis of US News Coverage, Rochelle Terman (2017), International Studies Quarterly
3 Comments
Atiyatul Qadir · November 11, 2024 at 9:42 am
It is wonderfully written. I hope our morden society will understand the importance and benefits of Hijaab. Women empowerment should not be got refrained due to the this.
Syed Zafar Ahmad · November 13, 2024 at 12:46 pm
The article in defence of Islamic veil is well written. It does dispel several wrong notions that has crept in because of either lack of understanding or simple Islamophobia. The writers deserve commendation. I would however suggest giving a little background about the practice of wearing the burqa and also the universal practice of putting on the veil in different countries and amongst women of different religions – right from the Victorian standard of modesty in ancient Europe to the present-day Hindus of Rajasthan! Infact veil is in vogue in different forms amongst women in Christianity, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and others. This aspect could have been highlighted. The article, nevertheless, is good indeed.
mohammad · November 14, 2024 at 6:26 am
nicely explained,. covering all points… no room for noumankhan