proudly wear a hijab it’s a sign of style and strength

World Hijab Day, celebrated on February 1 for the 10th successive time, was established to encourage women from all religious backgrounds to wear a head scarf in order to homogenize traditional head covering. But while hijab has been embraced by some women who have taken it to a high– fashion design position

Women, including Muslims who follow the rules of modesty, like to wear beautiful apparel and follow fashion trends in their choice of vesture. “ The same applies to the hijab. Every touch we put on increases our beauty, ” she said.

High– fashion– designed hijabs are part of a lesser trend called “ modesty fashion, ” in which clothes that are considered to be modest in Muslim communities are streamlined and come part of global fashion trends.

I ’m scrolling through the new– in runners of ASOS from my phone when my thumb stops. The product that has caught my eye is a multicoloured crochet balaclava — a divisible hood that simply slips on to the head.

I keep scrolling and I’m met with another design, this bone in a solid tinge of peacock blue. Yet another appears in a shade of baby pink, with drawstrings to make it fit more tightly around the face. The most precious of the three, at Dh200, the pink balaclava is formerly out of stock.

I ca n’t help but suppose how thismicro-trend will reverberate with hijab– wearing women will they acclimatize it to their own downtime wardrobes or denounce it as yet another case of the double norms Muslim women face in some corridor of the world about “ traditional– looking ” head and face coverings?

Balaclavas were introduced as a downtime style trend two times agone , when markers similar as Marine Serre and Miu Miu showcased performances on their afterlife/ downtime 2021 runways. A time latterly, the head covering’s fashionability was farther cemented, when it was seen on the 2023 runways of Gucci, Max Mara and Proenza Schouler with one piece being modelled by Bella Hadid. The style has now trickled down to the high road, with balaclavas available from H&M, Topshop, Monki and further.

“ The balaclava is trending, which is accessible for hijab- wearing women, and especially for Muslim sisters who live in or visit cold countries, ” says French- Moroccan modest– fashion influencer Hanan Houachmi, who lives in Dubai. “ It’s easier for them to wear commodity that actually stays on the head indeed better than a beanie. It’s a new, warmer option, but I would prioritise copping it from hijabs brands. ”

Bringing the balaclava home

Recognizing the community between balaclavas and hijabs, and relating a gap in the modest wear request, American headscarf brand Vela lately launched its Villalva line made especially for hijab- wearing women.

“ The alleviation for this collection came when I was planning a trip to Iceland. I knew I wanted a warm scarf for my cold holiday destination, but the balaclavas in the request did n’t have enough modest content for me, ” Velaco-founder Tasneem Sabri tells The National. “ Temperatures in some places are at zero degrees Fahrenheit, and a woven or chiffon hijab just will not keep you warm enough. So, we’ve to get creative and wear a beanie on top of hijabs or another thicker scarf that, let’s be real, can be veritably uncomfortable. ”
Vela’s balaclava designs, which took a time to conceptualize and produce, are hand– knit with 100 per cent hair and point longer neckpieces for further content. Available in black, pink and beach tones, some are dotted with brackish plums and others are decorated with minimalist tableware fasteners, feeding to both womanlike and edgy aesthetics.

Other types of hijab 2023

While the Velaclava launch was largely awaited some styles vended out within 24 hours of launching — Sabri says the platoon entered a many commentary from critics claiming they were using a fashion garment in lieu of a religious headscarf.

“ Our response was a hijab is a hair covering. No ruling specifies which fabrics and design rudiments can or can not be used. Our intention is straightforward to produce a hijab or head covering that’s comfortable, functional and fashionably appealing, ” says Sabri.

The brand was also motivated to put its mark on on- trend head coverings — a niche that may be gaining currency in fashion, but is still stigmatised in certain political circles when worn by a certain member of women.

“ The double standard is real, ” says Sabri. “ When a supermodel wears a balaclava on a runway, it’s fashion, but when a Muslim woman wears a analogous head covering, it’s oppression. We suppose the smirch will remain unless Muslim women continue to challenge it. ”

The rise of the balaclava has not been without contestation. This time last time, when the accessory was surfacing on runways and social media, some Muslim women refocused out the irony — that indeed while covering one’s head was getting more popular in the mainstream, the Indian state of Karnataka was outlawing hijabs in seminaries and the French chamber was advancing to ban hijabs on Muslim women playing sport.

A head covering that’s supposed trendy on one woman is seen as a symbol of religious unreasonableness on another.

The same but different of hijab?

While some women may choose to change the traditional hijab for a balaclava for religious or modest reasons, Palestinian artist Nemaha “ Nemesis ” Hasan lately used TikTok to point out differences in perception. The songster, who lives in Toronto, slipped a woolly balaclava for her debut single What If I took it Off for You?, and frequently wears the style in her particular life.
still, lately she had her balaclava removed from her head for security reasons by womanish labor force at the field, who had no idea that Hasan was wearing the garment in lieu of a hijab. The staff member was repentant when she realized her mistake, but Hasan says she understood also that others may perceive the balaclava as just another form of a hoodie.

Meet Asma Elbadawi

the athlete who made basketball accessible to hijab– wearing women

In that sense, far from being a case of artistic appropriation, a balaclava can not be conflated with a hijab. The accessory has its roots in the West, and was made in the 1800s to keep British dogfaces warm in the downtime.

It’s also frequently worn by downtime sports athletes.
“ We used to vend them at a ski resort that I worked at. A lot of people were wearing balaclavas way before they ever heard about Islam, ” says Houachmi. “ numerous effects are unfairly politicised, but we ca n’t argue every single thing that’s related to covering a head. I suppose we tend to get caught up in the offences and the unfairness, and also all those frustrations make up and we start mooting effects that aren’t a debate. The balaclava is n’t a debate; it is n’t ‘ ours ’. ”

Houachmi putatively has mixed passions about balaclavas, because she believes that an important function of the hijab is for it to be an egregious identifier of a Muslim woman. “ I also wear balaclavas, so I ’m not judging. still, it is n’t an item that makes an egregious, clear statement that we ’re Muslim women, ” she says.