I recently came across a very interesting article on Hijab. Now I am not sure on how much I agree with the facts stated by the author about the origins of Hijab and when it started, but it certainly caught my attention. One thing I would like to comment on however, is that girls in Iran are forced to cover their hair at the age of six. This was in accordance with a law that came out in 1982 forcing all girls over the age of six to cover their hair.
Why did this law come out? Because in ’81 the president of the republic stated that “scientific research had shown that women’s hair emitted rays that drove men insane” . Now I am quoting this directly from the article, so again I do not know how accurate these facts are, but I can tell you one thing. This quote curled my hair (which I do not cover when I go out. I am staunchly anti Hijab). I was so shocked that anyone can actually say something like this. Does the president truly believe that? I mean can he seriously believe that?
And to force little girls over the age of six to wear the Hijab is just sick! Even the advocates of Hijab state that girls should wear the Hijab when they hit puberty. To steal away little six year olds childhoods’ like that is enough to make me cry. How can a little girl go out to play when she is constantly afraid that her Hijab will slip off and someone will come to yell at her? How can she jump and run and skip rope and be carefree when she is afraid that someone might see her legs or arms? This is all I am going to say about this topic because if I don’t stop now, I don’t know how long I will rant about it. But in the end all I want to say is this. It is so wrong on so many levels.
Actually this article is wrong in saying that the president of Iran in 1982, Abdul Assan Bani Sadr, was the originator of that idiotic pronouncement. The culprit is Ayatollah Khomeni who stated this in one of his mind-numbing Friday sermons at Teheran University in 1980. Bani Sadr was just parroting and following orders from his master when he enacted that assinine law. That this quote is now attributed to him, is some sort of poetic justice for his turn-coat politics. You see, he was an Iranian exile during the Shah’s reign and allied himself to Khomeni for personnal advancement, an all too common path amongst carrerist politicians, which in the end did not bring him anything better than flight for his life, and exile yet again.
Like you, I think this is a terrible violation of a child basic rights to develop healthily. The limitations put on such a small girl’s life in terms of freedom to move, and healthy play is an affront to womanhood everywhere! I can only imagine the awful pall that must descend on a 6 y. old’s spirit at the doning of hijab. All of a sudden you are lumped with the female grown-ups, who are deemded temptresses and potential evil-doers: how insensate is this!!! I am sure that every little girl gets the message, as the whole society around them demean womanhood and thus give them very limited voice in the conduct of their own lives. This is beyond sad, it is tragic. Moreover the cost of society’s many ills such as domestic violence, rape, incest etc… are somehow laid at the feet of the fair sex, making it the bearer of responsible conduct for all men as well as their own.
Many Muslims express profound dismay at what they view as westerners’ disrespect and, in some cases loathing of Islam; while they do have a point that by and large a lot of westerners are ignorant and overreacting, there is certainly much more than a grain of truth in the view that Islam as practiced in most ME countries is a blasphemy onto God, who did create us to be loving, nurturing and tolerant towards one another.
I personnaly know so many good Muslims who like you are appaled at what is done in their names, this as well as the level of blistering hatred generated in all quarters by extremists. So again, and with all due respect, I would urge all decent moderates to stand up for their righteous beliefs, which are being debased and twisted by fanatics. In the end it will be the whole of the Uma who will pays the price for the sins of the minority.
MERRY CHRISTMAS dear Hazel!
May the message of love and peace, that is the message of our main Holiday, keep you and yours in health, happiness, peace and success.