.... Canadian values can accommodate the hijab; it is in line with our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The hijab is not like the niqab that conceals identity, although it can be argued that in rare cases it can certainly modify that identity, even beyond recognition.
That said, I am certainly no proponent of the hijab. I believe it is a garment rooted in patriarchy as much as the niqab.
Anyone glamorizing the hijab and niqab as somehow liberating has ignored the numerous orthodox interpretations of Islam suggesting it is largely the woman’s responsibility to protect herself from the lascivious gaze of men and if she doesn’t she is somehow inviting trouble.
Many who support wearing the hijab believe it is a matter of choice. Yet in this context such an interpretation is simplistic, because the “choice” is made only within a very restrictive environment that promotes a certain type of orthodoxy interwoven with hellfire theology. I reject the notion that it is a freely made choice. [Toronto Sun] Read more
