Why it is time to show support with our Muslim sisters in India
by Shawintala Banwarie
Image Credit: World Bank Photo Collection, Flickr
A few weeks ago, six Muslim girls were denied entry to their school in Karnataka, India, because they were wearing the hijab. Despite the protest of several Indian student organisations like Campus Front India and Girls Islamic Organisations of India, the school insisted that the wearing of a hijab is not allowed. For Muslim women in India, such dsicrmination is nothing new—; all across the country, Muslim women routinely find themselves the targets of discrimination and violent attacks. In recent months, India even witnessed online misogynistic abuse in which Muslim women were “sold” on fake auction sites. Despite all of this, there has still not been any sort of nationwide campaign in solidarity with Muslim women in India, let alone any condemnation from the Indian government.
February 1, 2022 was #WorldHijabDay, and I would like to remind everyone that our solidarity with the Muslim women in India is long overdue. Yes, Islamophobia is a worldwide problem. But in a society which is already extremely dangerous for women to live in, the situation for women belonging to an oppressed minority is even more threatening. Muslim women, together with Dalits, Adivasis and Christians, are disproportionately the victims of sexual violence. They are being stripped of their dignity, and they barely get the opportunity to speak out. When they do speak out, the victim and their family are often threatened and put under pressure to stay silent.
Another important reason is that the prejudices and discrimination against Indian Muslims is not limited to the right wing only. The problem is not just the online abuse and the violent hate attacks by Hindutva extremists. Even among the liberal and secular people, Islamophobia remains a problem. I can recall how often I have heard Indian liberals claiming that the hijab is inherently a symbol of oppression. Some would label this as soft bigotry. But let us not forget that it is this same soft bigotry that allows the problem of islamophobia to persist and maintain its power in Indian society.
Meanwhile many prominent Muslim women have emphasized over and over again that they wear the hijab out of free will, not coercion. Ilhan Omar, for example, has tweeted that no one puts a scarf on her head but herself. And Hind Makki, an influential Muslim feminist from the USA who is fighting the patriarchy within Muslim communities, explained that most Americam muslim women are not forced to wear the hijab.
I have also heard many Indian liberals say that Muslim women first should look at the problems in their “own” communities before pointing towards the discrimination and bigotry from the Hindu majority. This is a typical example of how any genuine criticism from a woman belonging to a minority is dismissed by people who, even when they consider themselves liberal minded, are running away from discussing the sensitive issues in their society. If the hate and discrimination towards Muslim women is so embedded in the Indian society, what hope is there left? I want activists around the world to realise that Indian Muslim women deserve particular attention, given the disproportionate discrimination and threats they face on a daily basis. I hope that people in the Indian and Hindu diaspora create a coordinated voice of solidarity with Indian Muslim women. I see a growing awareness in the Indian diaspora when it comes to the oppression of women in India more broadly. Why, then, can’t we do the same for the Muslim women in India—women who need our support and solidarity more than ever before?
Our support on World Hijab Day, therefore, is not necessarily about the hijab. The discrimination towards the schoolgirls in Karnataka wearing the hijab is part of a broader phenomenon. This day should be about all occasions in which Muslims, women in particular, are being singled out and discriminated against for their faith.