🇵🇭 Women in the Philippines encouraged to wear the veil on World Hijab Day 🧕 to raise a better understanding of the garment | Filipino Muslim
Muslim women in the Philippines are trying to raise awareness on what they described as misconceptions about wearing a hijab or veil.
To mark World Hijab Day on Feb. 1, Filipino women were encouraged to wear the veil for a day to experience the life of a “hijabi.”
A “hijab” is a veil that covers the head and chest of Muslim women especially while in the presence of adult men outside of their family. A “hijabi” refers to a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.
“There are those who think that women wearing the veil are being forced, oppressed and worse, being labeled as terrorists,” said civil society leader Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman.
Through World Hijab Day they can raise awareness and put a stop to all sorts of discrimination, including discrimination against Muslim women, she said.
“We hope to foster deeper respect and understanding among and between Filipinos of varying cultures and faiths toward national unity and peace,” said Turabin-Hataman, a former legislator from Mindanao.
She said Muslim women who wear the veil experience discrimination and maltreatment in many parts of the world because people do not understand its significance.
Amihilda Sangcopan of the Children of Mindanao Party in Congress vowed to work for a bill that will protect a Muslim woman’s right to wear the veil.
“Wearing the hijab is something personal. It is a way of self-discipline, you compose yourself, you tell yourself to be good, to be kind, to be the best person you can, because that is what your hijab represents,” she said.
According to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, there are about 10.7 million Muslims in the country or about 11 percent of the population.
Source: UCA News | Feb 2018