Hands off My Hijab Speaker Event

On the 29 September Fem Soc hosted its first speaker event of the year. We were lucky enough to have three diverse guest speakers to discuss their experiences of wearing a hijab; Lindsay Taylor, the Scottish regional manager for MED (Muslim Engagement and Development), Aisha Janki Akinola, the Vice President for Welfare at the University of Edinburgh and Lylly Write, an activist and poet who grew up in France but has Algerian roots.

The Hands off my Hijab campaign took off after Rawdah Mohammed posted a viral selfie on Instagram with “hands off my hijab” written on her hand in protest to the proposed ban on hijabs in France as well as the “deep routed stereotypes” against Muslim women. This ban is part of the Anti-Separatism Bill which bans girls under the age of 18 to wear a hijab in public spaces and bans mothers from wearing the hijab whilst accompanying their children on school trips. France has a history of Islamophobic laws, despite being home to 5.7 million Muslims; in 2004 it banned religious symbols in public schools and was the first country to ban hijabs in public spaces. Quebec has since banned hijabs too for civil servants.

Lindsay Taylor was the first to speak and explained how Islamophobia is institutionalised. A Muslim woman is three times less likely to be asked to an interview and is often asked personal questions about her family and beliefs. She highlighted the racialised stereotypes associated with the hijab; strangers question her choice to wear it when she is white, intelligent and Scottish but she asserts her agency and believes that women should have the freedom to manifest their religious beliefs. Aisha Akinola on the other hand, is used to the hijab being a cultural norm as being from Nigeria, it was part of her uniform at school. Growing up, she could not imagine that she would one day be in a position where she would struggle to wear her hijab or that it would become so politically charged. Write, in contrast found it difficult to reset her relationship with her hijab having grown up in France where people would think she was an imposter for wearing it. She found it difficult to separate politics and religion when it came to wearing her hijab. Despite all three women coming from very different backgrounds, they all share the same view- no one should dictate what a woman should wear when it comes to an expression of their religion.

Unfortunately, the hijab has also been sexualised; Taylor argued that it is “though [this] sexualisation that men find their power.” She believes that the hijab allows women to put up a barrier with men and whilst it is not always seen that way, Islam gives women an ability to be a feminist so by taking this away from women it gives men power. Write recalled that she has been regularly catcalled in the street for wearing a hijab as people think it is exotic which is an extremely degrading experience. Akinola went on to raise the crucial point that is often overlooked; feminism can take many different forms and women choosing to cover up can still be strongly empowering.

The hijab was never intended to be a political statement, or to be sexualised but is worn by Muslim women for God. Write explained the origins of the hijab, designed to create a safe and seamless passage for women from the private to public sphere in a context of potent misogyny. It enabled women to exist in a man’s world. Write questions whether the world has really changed. Write later discussed how she feels there is a separation for Muslim women as people assume they cannot speak for themselves, challenge their religious identity and interrogate their right to exist in a country in the global north. Many Muslim women like our panellists are achieving impressive things and because of the daily changes they face, have created a powerful platform.

The political and social situation in France has become desperate for people of all faiths but Muslim women in particular as they already face discrimination based on their gender. Write grew up in France and gave a detailed answer when asked about her views on France and its relationship with Islam. She pointed out that in France people fear people being different and therefore “talking about the hijab is easier than facing what is really happening.” Taylor added that the French Government’s decision to legally enforce face coverings in all public spaces while simultaneously banning the hijab screams of hypocrisy given that the government seems to want to enforce people to cover up for health reasons but won’t allow them to do it for religious reasons. France has a complex history with religion, preferring to promote secularism. Write believes it is now a toxic environment where religion and ethnic minorities can’t exist. Islamophobia in France is explicit and direct in the laws and culture but in the UK it manifests as microaggressions. Boris Johnson famously compared Muslim women to “letterboxes” despite having a Muslim great grandfather from Turkey. The ban on hijabs makes it difficult for young women to know their own identity. Akinola echoed this thought saying that people are expecting Muslim women to conform which can be challenging for a young and impressionable person; they are happy to “adapt but [we] will not conform.”

The final topic of conversation turned to whether our guests felt the need to defend themselves and their choices and how men can be active bystanders and allies. Taylor doesn’t feel she needs to explain herself and does not feel it is her responsibility as the oppressed to educate the oppressor and feels we should instead be focussing on allyship. She believes men should be supported rather than disenfranchised and be educating themselves. Akinola on the other hand says the feel the need to defend herself depending on the social situation she is in- but as someone who is more active on social media and having the role as VP Welfare, she feels responsible to explain her identity and be a voice for Muslim Women who don’t have a similar following. Equally she argues that there needs to be more awareness, understanding and respect that people manifest their identities differently.

The session closed with the idea that our differences are beautiful, but we have to stop being passive bystanders and instead we need to be actively anti-racist and anti- misogynistic. Couldn’t agree more!

We have attached the social media accounts for the speakers:

Lindsay Taylor: @mendcommunity

Lylly Write: @lylly.write

Aisha Janki Akinola: @voteaisha4vpwelfare