Hijab Fashion is Sometimes Problematic, and We Should Talk About That

           
         I have the incredible privilege of being a Muslim woman, and of wearing hijab. I love hijab--but hijab is sometimes exhausting because people refuse to believe that I, an intelligent and autonomous being, made a choice that works for me and have then spent years determining the best way for me to express that choice.

 Hijab is a way for me, as a Muslim woman, to control my own narrative. It is a way for me to honor my faith and create a series of concrete boundaries that help society to understand that I am not required to look a certain way to be worthy of dignity and respect. It frees me from the oppressive expectation of looking conventionally desirable when I am more interested in looking competent, brave and in control of my own life.

Is hijab fashion? It can be. I find the dialogue around this topic to be really problematic in some ways. The sisters we see held up as examples tend to fit a particular mold--thin, very light skinned, conventionally attractive and wealthy enough to afford lots of expensive new clothes.  They almost exclusively wear Western-style clothes and tend to favor well-known brands. And none of those things, themselves, are bad. Mashallah, many of these sisters are very beautiful and dress themselves incredibly well.

 That said, I don't think fitting that standard is the rent hijabis should have to pay to be part of the dialogue. Where are the fat hijabis? The dark-skinned hijabis? Sisters who wear mostly abayas, or niqabs, or who have physical differences? Where are those voices?

Hijab can be fashion, but it can be a vehicle to stratify, shame and exclude sisters who might not fit a particular standard. And it shouldn't be.