VIDEO: Muslim Women Expressing Views and Clearing Some Misconceptions About #Niqab

I like this video because it helps people who are willing to hear with an open mind, the reasons why some Muslim women wear niqab.

Although I personally disagree that it is required vs. being optional, I also saw and felt with my own eyes, heart and mind, the very same things that the sisters speak of in this video about wearing it.

I wore niqab for one year in 2005, during the period when I lived in Saudi Arabia. And I will never forget the feeling of liberation I experienced in its protection from eyes boring through me by men so foolish as to break their necks for the sake of seeing any sign of the color of my skin, or even the green of my eyes (I wore the  triple layer version with the eye screen; loved it!).

Wearing niqab in Saudi Arabia was empowering in that it gave me the option to say to those wishing to stare, "Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah! You can't see me!" It was glorious. And I don't regret one minute of the time I spent wearing it. In fact, upon reentering the U.S. in 2006, it took me three months to be able to go outside again without it. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows Best.

Islam teaches us that a smile is charity, so why should the reward for such a thing be restricted to men? And why would they be instructed to lower their gaze if everyone was walking around completely covered from head to toe, including faces? So, I have opted to share my smile.

RELATED
Even a Smile is Charity: A Life Example
By Aishah Schwartz for OnIslam.net

Muslim women expressing their views and clearing some misconceptions about #Niqab. Video by Campaign Islam.
Posted by Islam port on Sunday, April 26, 2015

MWA Supports International Niqab Day, March 8, 2010

A NOTE FROM INTERNATIONAL NIQAB DAY ORGANIZER, MARIAN VARGAS: Many many people don't understand yet why we (women) wear hijab, niqab. In many so-called democratic countries we find a persecution against hijab and niqab. But do they really know why women chose to wear it?

Have we asked ourselves why people are supporting politicians standing against a woman's right to choose, politicians who haven't even spent 5 minutes sitting with a covered woman to ask her why she chooses to cover? Many covering women are not only well educated, but also firm in their personal conviction that, from a personal perspective, they have made the choice that is right for THEM; regardless of the false implications purported by mainstream media.

The idea behind International Niqab Day is to wear Niqab for ONE, to stand in solidarity with Muslim Women who have chosen to wear niqab and to stand up for protection of their basic civil rights.

Vargas stated, "I lived in Egypt, Qatar and have been in Dubai and no one in those countries forces women to cover. I see many women with short clothes as they are from different religions and they are respect for [their personal choice]. You can find women in bikini in the pools and the beaches, so why we are [Muslim women] facing problems for wanting cover? What makes it ok for [one group] to be free to choose what they want to wear and [while another group is] not free [to choose]?

"As long as we don't unite this [form of discrimination] will continue. Non-Muslims that really believe in freedom and are tired of discrimination please [stand in solidarity] with us, and be part of the movement to learn and understand one another's differences, so we can co-exist in a peaceful environment."

*Alternatively, men (or women) can wear a black ribbon to support.

Read the Niqab story of Muslimah Writers Alliance Director, Aishah Schwartz  here.