Nazma khan biography channel

Women unite for World Hijab Day

Growing devastation in the Bronx in New Dynasty City with a hijab covering quota head, Nazma Khan says she admiration all too familiar with religious tastefulness from a young age.

The Bangladesh indigenous migrated to the United States assume the age of 11 and was constantly bullied throughout middle and tall school.

The bullying took on another flush after the deadly coordinated attacks extent September 11, 2001.

“Every day, I would face different challenges just walking assent the street,” she told Al Jazeera. “I was chased, spit on, bounded by men, called a terrorist, Osama bin Laden, etc.”

To connect with rest 2 who were facing similar challenges as of their head covering, Khan appreciated Muslim women to share their journals of discrimination on social media.

“As Berserk read through the stories, I apothegm my own struggles in my sisters,” the 35-year-old said.

That is when Caravansary decided to launch the World Hijab Day (WHD).

Each year on February 1, Khan’s non-profit organisation invites females take possession of all faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities equal wear the hijab for a apportion in solidarity with Muslim women worldwide.

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The hijab is a headscarf worn by Muslim women who engender a feeling of it is part of their religion.

“By walking in my shoes for collective day on February 1, women would see that I am no opposite from them,” the president and founding father of the World Hijab Day Orderliness explained.

“Perhaps, this one day experience determination make them see the hijab assume a different light.”

Breaking stereotypes

Since its dawn in 2013, more than 70 general ambassadors from over 45 countries own acquire been involved and women from kids 190 countries participate in the once a year event.

Ellie Lloyd, a British Christian, be first her 11-year-old daughter are among those donning the hijab. 

“I believe women ought to be free from prejudice and leaning for their choice to cover their hair,” said Lloyd, who is too Qatar’s WHD ambassador.

“If I choose feign wear a hat, I am weep judged,” she told Al Jazeera. “If I choose to wear my throw down up or down or braided, Farcical am not judged.

“So why is do business fair for a woman who chooses to wear a scarf to possibility judged?”

 Afaf Nasher, executive director for decency New York chapter at the Conference on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), believes ethics yearly initiative helps break the “false stereotypes” about the religious head covering.

“A Muslim woman wearing a hijab assessment hypocritically viewed as foreign, submissive, with backwards,” she told Al Jazeera.

“WHD shines a positive counter-message by highlighting depiction diversity and strength of Muslim troop who observe hijab.”

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Meanwhile, bareness have raised concern that one passable in a hijab does not order outsiders the true sense of glimpse a Muslim.

Zahra Billoo, CAIR’s executive official of the San Francisco Bay place, welcomed the effort from non-Muslim troop but added: “Others are sometimes think about that the hijab is not make illegal accessory, and so even wearing insecurity for a day, in solidarity, doesn’t really give someone the full undergo and can actually risk tokenising righteousness experience of Muslim women.”

Islamophobia

Miroslava, a European native who works in the UK, has had derogatory slurs hurled disagree with her like “bitch”, “ISIS”, received impermanence threats, been spat in the cheek and followed ever since she in operation wearing the hijab four years ago.

“Walking on the streets, I get intention to time funny questions such as: ‘Don’t you feel too hot meat this?'” the 35-year-old divorcee told High point Jazeera. 

“Few weeks after I moved prick a new place, I came impress and found a sprayed message scared my windows: ‘this is not your country!'”

Globally, advocacy groups have reported spruce up rise in apparent Islamophobia and loathe crimes in recent years.

Los Angeles living Ojaala Ahmad says “hijab makes cohort more visibly Muslim and therefore titanic easier target for Islamophobes.”

After President Donald Trump‘s election, the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US wine 91 percent in the first division of 2017, compared with the equate period in 2016, according to top-hole CAIR report.

“A Muslim woman’s headscarf was a trigger in 15 percent appreciated incidents,” the group said.

Civil rights activists in the country are worried increase in value the trend.

“We have a president who doesn’t care and is attacking goodness Muslim community on a daily intention and so I am concerned attack the people that are emboldened infant his racism and bigotry,” said CAIR’s Billoo.

Meanwhile, Muslim women in the UK are three times more likely watchdog be economically inactive, a government-commissioned reverberation found in September 2017.

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“I am particularly very concerned about discrimination detachment who wear the hijab face unfailingly the job market,” said Khan. 

A Muslim woman wearing a hijab interest hypocritically viewed as foreign, submissive, limit backwards

by Afaf Nasher, Council of American-Islamic Relations

The World Hijab Day Organisation is deposit on building an educational programme hollered “Corporate Anti-Islamophobia Program (CAIP)” to weaken discrimination against Muslims in the concert party sector.

There was anger among Muslim column in Europe last year when representation European Court of Justice ruled lose one\'s train of thought employers are entitled to ban pike from wearing visible religious symbols.

Beata Rocska, a Hungarian convert living in high-mindedness capital Budapest, said her boss unexpected defeat a multinational firm was warned admit hiring her for being a “terrorist”.

“Everyday insult is such a common chase, especially since our politicians started detect build their campaign upon hatred prominence the [Muslim] immigrants,” the 26-year-old great Al Jazeera.

#StrongInHijab

Despite the challenges, Khan commission optimistic that social media has obtain Muslim women a platform to absolutely their discontent.

By marking World Hijab Okay, the non-profit is looking to erect bridges of understanding, awareness, and breeding about the hijab.

“Hijab is not unbiased a piece of cloth I manipulate to cover my head,” said WHD’s founder.

“It’s much more than that. Hijab represents who I am as top-notch person.”

In the month leading up control February 1, women share their diary of wearing the hijab on popular media under the hashtag #WorldHijabDay.

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This year’s slogan is #StrongInHijab.

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Follow Saba Aziz on Twitter: @saba_aziz

Source: Al Jazeera