Muslim Women Are Facing Conflicting Issues About the Same Problem: Choice
In two religiously intolerant countries, Muslim women are facing political barriers regarding their rights to headscarves. In Iran: protests against hijabs. In India: students suing to wear them.
Due to extreme religious variance in the South Asian nation, India has always struggled with religious freedom. Although Article 25 in the Indian constitution states the right to pursue a religion/faith of choice, this is not always the case. Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus are just a handful of convictions that see little to nothing in common and wish to live separately. On the one hand, a face-to-face interview conducted by Pew Research Center with 30,000 people provided overwhelming results on religious freedom in India. As stated in the article, “across the major religious groups, most people say it is very important to respect all religions to be ‘truly Indian’” (Pew Research Center). The spiritual cooperation of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and Hindus reside in their similar fundamental belief in being respectful and generous towards all. But, on the other, the majority of Hindus believe they are significantly different from Muslims (66%). “Fewer Indians go so far as to say that their neighborhoods should consist only of people from their religious group. Still, many would prefer to keep people of certain religions out of their residential areas or villages” (Pew Research Center). In India, the root of this major religious divide exists in the minds of the citizens and their restrictive thinking.
Unfortunately, the situation in Iran isn’t any better. In 2022, Iran violated religious freedom several times. Acting in extreme, Iran has gone so far as to “persecute religious minorities, especially those not recognized under Iran’s constitution” (USCIRF.gov). Christians and Sunni Muslims in Iran face arrests, including “excessive prison sentences” and punishments for practicing their faith (USCIRF.gov). Further, religious minorities who migrate to other countries continue to be threatened by the IRGC, while Iran is also trying to manipulate its neighboring nations to do the same and follow the country’s religious policies. Using religious intolerance as an excuse, Iran favors the inferiority of women and the LGBTQI+ and encourages it by not providing them with any rights of freedom of religion (USCIRF.gov). “This country update details the persecution of religious minorities in Iran in 2022 and illustrates how the Iranian government uses a singular interpretation of Ja’afri Shi’a Islam to restrict religious freedom” (USCIRF.gov).
And yet, despite the similarities in both nations’ religious restrictions, Muslim women in both nations are facing opposite problems. In an article by NPR journalist Lauren Frayer, she wrote, “Footage of Iranian women protesting and burning their hijabs has fascinated Indians, in part because they are seeing the opposite scenario play out at home: Muslim women are suing India's government for the right to keep their hijabs on.” Sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini – a 22-year-old Muslim woman who was beaten to death for “improperly” wearing her hijab – Iranian protests recently broke out all over the country. With university students at the front lines, protestors have been attacking symbols of the regime, burning headscarves, and fighting with police in a nationwide attempt for governmental and religious change (Wall Street Journal). On the other end of the spectrum, Muslim schoolgirls in southern India have sued the government for their right to keep their hijabs on in the classroom. Their lawsuit reached the Supreme Court, where justices acknowledged that even they were having a tough time reaching a decision (Wall Street Journal). Although many Hindus in India see contradiction in supporting both Iranian and Indian women with their opposing goals, Muslim women on both the left and right say that this completely misses the point. “It's not about the hijab, they say. It's about choice.”
Unfortunately, the situation in Iran isn’t any better. In 2022, Iran violated religious freedom several times. Acting in extreme, Iran has gone so far as to “persecute religious minorities, especially those not recognized under Iran’s constitution” (USCIRF.gov). Christians and Sunni Muslims in Iran face arrests, including “excessive prison sentences” and punishments for practicing their faith (USCIRF.gov). Further, religious minorities who migrate to other countries continue to be threatened by the IRGC, while Iran is also trying to manipulate its neighboring nations to do the same and follow the country’s religious policies. Using religious intolerance as an excuse, Iran favors the inferiority of women and the LGBTQI+ and encourages it by not providing them with any rights of freedom of religion (USCIRF.gov). “This country update details the persecution of religious minorities in Iran in 2022 and illustrates how the Iranian government uses a singular interpretation of Ja’afri Shi’a Islam to restrict religious freedom” (USCIRF.gov).
And yet, despite the similarities in both nations’ religious restrictions, Muslim women in both nations are facing opposite problems. In an article by NPR journalist Lauren Frayer, she wrote, “Footage of Iranian women protesting and burning their hijabs has fascinated Indians, in part because they are seeing the opposite scenario play out at home: Muslim women are suing India's government for the right to keep their hijabs on.” Sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini – a 22-year-old Muslim woman who was beaten to death for “improperly” wearing her hijab – Iranian protests recently broke out all over the country. With university students at the front lines, protestors have been attacking symbols of the regime, burning headscarves, and fighting with police in a nationwide attempt for governmental and religious change (Wall Street Journal). On the other end of the spectrum, Muslim schoolgirls in southern India have sued the government for their right to keep their hijabs on in the classroom. Their lawsuit reached the Supreme Court, where justices acknowledged that even they were having a tough time reaching a decision (Wall Street Journal). Although many Hindus in India see contradiction in supporting both Iranian and Indian women with their opposing goals, Muslim women on both the left and right say that this completely misses the point. “It's not about the hijab, they say. It's about choice.”
Works Cited
Cloud, David S. “Who Is Mahsa Amini, and Why Did Her Death Spark Protests in Iran?” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 23 Sept. 2022, https://www.wsj.com/story/who-is-mahsa-amini-and-why-did-her-death-spark-protests-in-iran-d4236eb3.
Frayer, Lauren. “In Iran, Women Are Protesting the Hijab. in India, They're Suing to Wear It.” NPR, NPR, 29 Oct. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/10/29/1131830324/india-hijab-iran-protests.
“International Religious Freedom.” USCIRF, https://www.uscirf.gov/.
Mitchell, Travis. “Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation.” Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center, 27 Oct. 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religion-in-india-tolerance-and-segregation/.
Cloud, David S. “Who Is Mahsa Amini, and Why Did Her Death Spark Protests in Iran?” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 23 Sept. 2022, https://www.wsj.com/story/who-is-mahsa-amini-and-why-did-her-death-spark-protests-in-iran-d4236eb3.
Frayer, Lauren. “In Iran, Women Are Protesting the Hijab. in India, They're Suing to Wear It.” NPR, NPR, 29 Oct. 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/10/29/1131830324/india-hijab-iran-protests.
“International Religious Freedom.” USCIRF, https://www.uscirf.gov/.
Mitchell, Travis. “Religion in India: Tolerance and Segregation.” Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center, 27 Oct. 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/06/29/religion-in-india-tolerance-and-segregation/.