Sumaya Abdullabi
In Western society, people tend to respect you more with hijab on. Although not exclusive, but hijabi girls
find that they are able to avoid forms of sexual harrassment with their hijab. When people look at veiled
Muslim women, their immediate reaction does not lead them to scroll up-and-down their body, they are
rather led to bend their gaze low and respect them. Whether that respect is genuine or not is based on
the individual. It is important to note two things: this majority case of avoidance of sexual harassment is
not persistent to all covered Muslim women and region-to-region the statistics also may differ. Muslim
dominant countries where more women cover also experience rape and high levels of sexual harassment.
Country to country the statistics and experiences of sexual harassment vary. In all cases it is a cultural
problem and religion has nothing to do with the issue.
“I feel safe and happy wearing my hijab”
Women in western societies who don’t veil are largely subjected to the male gaze (refer to Laura Mulvey’s
theory of the Male Gaze) whereas women in the same societal framework wearing the veil find that the
lowering of the gaze is far more common. The veil allows for personalization over sexualization due to
the covering of all sexual motivators of the body. Another important idea to note is that this again varies
person to person. Not all cases are identical and limited to the people specified in the text. People can carry
and present themselves in whichever manner they please, covered or not, but they will never be able to
control the intentions and mental conceptions of others. This is outside of their power and hopefully one
day we will reach a balance in our society where all are respected and treated as they wish to be.
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