Encyclopedia of Islam

hijab

  

297  J

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of demonstrating that their nations were modern 

and progressive. However, postcolonial nationalist 

and religious movements have embraced the hijab

as a symbol of Islamic piety and cultural potency.

The contemporary debate about the hijab

reflects the complex nature of identity in a post-

colonial world. Those who reject the hijab often 

argue that it is a symbol of patriarchal domination 

over women’s bodies, a socially enforced indicator 

of women’s submission to men. However, for many 

women who choose to wear some form of mod-

est dress, hijab is a marker of propriety, faith, and 

freedom. They argue that wearing the hijab allows 

them to be recognized as “respectable” women, 

giving them greater freedom of movement in social 

situations where they may have otherwise been 

subjected to sexual innuendo. They embrace it as 

a way of rejecting the objectification of women’s 

bodies as well as a marker of their piety. Also, they 

adopt the hijab as a symbol of their Islamic identity 

and view it as a historical connection to genera-

tions of Muslim women preceding them.

See also 

bUrqa

; 

colonialism

; 

harem

; 

pUrdah

.

Nancy L. Stockdale