Hijab 20 Years On

Aisha Alvi, Barrister at Law and her sister Fatima Alvi fought for the right to wear hijab as far back as 1990 after being suspended from Altrincham Grammar School for Girls in Cheshire. 20 years later Sister Aisha writes for Asian Image (18th February 2010) about how things stand for those wishing to wear hijab today:

"My love for wearing hijaab is purely, this: it is a commandment by Allah, my Creator, in the Quran. My scarf is my pride, honour and dignity and it has shaped the person who I am today.
My vision for the next ten years is this. We need to enlighten people so they know that the hijab, niqab and jilbaab are part of our religious freedom.

If you don’t want religious freedom in this country, ban the religion, but don’t ban parts of a religion that don’t fit in with British sensibilities. Islam is totalitarian and let us not be apologetic for that.

It is one and whole and not to be fragmented to divide Muslims with the introduction of various classifying notions, such as Radicals, Moderates and Islamists.

There is no difference between forcing the hijaab off or forcing it on.

Real practical progression over the next decade will only be seen when Muslims are truly accepted in wider British society and Muslims genuinely feel free to practice their faith."

You can read the full article here.