Hijab Day Celebrated in Pakistan
“We are not going to mark the event just for one day. It will actually be the beginning of our campaign that will last till the third anniversary of world Hijab Day,” Farhana Aurungzeb, the Karachi head of the women wing of Jamat-e-Islami, one of the country’s two mainstream religious parties, told OnIslam.net.
The party, which has the largest women wing in Pakistan, has chalked out different programs including conferences, seminars, and distribution of scarves in educational institutions and offices to mark the event.
“Our slogan for this year is hijab- my choice, my pride, which reflects that we have not been forced to wear Hijab. Instead, this is our choice as it is an obligatory part of dressing for Muslim women,” Aurugzeb, who had served as a woman representative in the municipal council of Karachi, the country’s largest municipal council, from 2002 to 2005, said.
Islami Jamiat Talibaat (IJT), the female student wing of Jamat-e-Islami, has planned to distribute scarves and gowns among the girl students in colleges and universities across the country.
“This is for the second consecutive time when the IJT is going to mark this day in hundreds of colleges and universities,” Ammara Liaquat, the IJT chief of Karachi chapter told OnIslam.net.
She said that last year’s response has encouraged her organization to mark the day at even a bigger level.
“We had distributed scarves even among the ultra modern girls and women, but to our surprise, not even a single woman discouraged us or refused to accept the hijab,” she recalled.
“In fact, some of them had appeared to be feeling guilty as they did understand the importance of hijab for a Muslim woman, but they did not find themselves ready to observe that right away,” she added.
Ammara observes that modesty that is an integral part of Islamic teachings and the main target of anti-religion forces, which unfortunately enjoy a brute support from media in Muslim societies.
“In these circumstances, there is a dire need for promotion of modesty in Muslim societies. And a move like hijab day is one of the effective actions to create awareness about modesty,” she maintained.
On February 1, one million Muslim and non-Muslim women wearing a traditional Islamic head scarf are going to march on the streets of 116 countries to mark the second anniversary of World Hijab Day.
The event, held for the second consecutive year, was first suggested by New York Muslim woman Nazma Khan to encourage non-Muslim women to don the hijab and experience it.
It was designed as part of a bid to foster better understanding and counteract controversies surrounding hijab as a Muslim choice.
Moreover, it was urged to counter anti-hijab
campaigns and laws in different countries which were spearheaded by France’s ban on hijab.
Source: On Islam
