04 May 2017

Why catwalk Hijabs are upsetting some Muslim women

There's a growing number of fashion brands and multinational companies showcasing women wearing an Islamic headscarf. But, for various reasons, some women from Muslim backgrounds aren't happy with the trend.

Dolce and Gabbana, H&M, Pepsi, Nike: just a few of the big brands putting women wearing a hijab - a traditional Islamic headscarf - front and centre in advertising campaigns.

The hijab has long been a contentious topic of conversation; feminists, religious conservatives, secularists are some of the online communities that have engaged in passionate debate about what it represents. But this time, online and using social media, it's some Muslim women who are questioning the use of such images.

.... They feel something sacred is being undermined by commercialism. Khadija Ahmed is the editor of a new online magazine called Another Lenz, but wrote a personal story of how she wore the hijab for two years, then took the decision to stop wearing it. She told BBC Trending she felt pressured by the images she saw in advertising and on social media.

"I don't feel that the brands are doing us a favour - we don't need the approval of the mainstream companies to approve of our identity," Ahmed says. "It's not doing anything for the Muslim community other than reducing the hijab - which I see as an act of worship - into something as simple as a fashion statement." [BBC] Read more