Azadeh Salour, Phil West and Bonnie Pomfret respond to Rabina Khan’s article addressing the stereotypes around wearing the hijab
I read Rabina Khan’s article with interest, being an Iranian Muslim woman born and raised in Iran (I proudly wear a hijab. Forget the stereotypes – it’s a sign of style and strength, 1 February). I’m glad Ms Khan brought up the oppression in Iran and how the hijab has been the backbone of a tyrannical regime. I’m an avid supporter of freedom of choice, and will never question how people wish to express themselves or their cultural identity through clothes. But I would stress that the hijab was originally forced on women by men. The philosophy that was gradually introduced was for women to cover themselves so that men would not be aroused. This is what I always found distasteful.
Even at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, women didn’t cover their hair. It was never a cultural identity for Iranian women to cover their hair for a long time after the Arab invasion and certainly not before the Islamic revolution. So please look at the history of all the countries in the world where women are forced or choose to wear the hijab and then call the practice as part of their identity.
Azadeh Salour
McLean, Virginia, US
