I am forced by no one to wear a Niqab
This is a translation of a video broadcasted on the SRF news website where a swiss woman wearing Niqab talks to a female journalist about her choice. Saida Keller Messahli, a swiss Muslim, human rights activist, and Journalist, the president of the forum for progressive Islam, also shares her views about Niqab.
Voters in Switzerland will vote on the popular initiative “Yes to the ban on veils.” But the Switzerland government has urged voters to reject the referendum on banning burqas. The government says the tourism industry will be affected severely by the ban.
Niqab wearer: To wear Niqab for me is an individual, free and personal decision.
Female Journalist: Do you mean that you were not forced to wear Niqab?
Niqab wearer: No, I was forced neither by my man nor by anyone else.
She is one of the few Swiss women wearing Niqab. Because she fears hostility, she preserves her anonymity. While traveling, this swiss woman has become familiar with Islam, and she has found her answers in religious conversion. Among people allowed to see her face are only her husband, children as well as close friends.
Niqab wearer: On the one hand, I want to obtain approval from Allah, my Creator. On the other hand, I want to draw a clear line with the opposite sex.
Female Journalist: Whileit is your right to wear Niqab, it is discrimination against women for others.
“Yes to the ban on veiling” is the Federal People’s Initiative, which would prohibit such Niqabs in public places. Women affected by such prohibition in Switzerland are only around 20 to 30. Nevertheless, the opinions are divided on this issue.
Saida Keller-Messahli is also a Swiss Muslim and the president of the Forum for Progressive Islam. She is a supporter of the initiative of the ban on veiling. The covering has nothing to do with religiosity.
Saida Keller-Messahli: To separate oneself from the opposite sex presupposes that one expects only bad things from the opposite sex that the opposite sex has no control over himself.
She refers to women abroad forced to wear the full veil.
Saida Keller-Messahli: In Iran, for example, there is a movement called my stealthy freedom. There, women defend themselves against the headscarf that Mullahs impose on them. They are risking going to prison and facing immense oppression. What does a Niqab wearer woman living in a democratic country like Switzerland want to say to these women?
Niqab wearer: Of course, I dismiss that when someone is coerced into doing something. This afflicts these countries very traditionally, and every deed done under duress is considered a hollow act from the religious point of view.
Keller Messahli is skeptical about women saying they voluntarily vail. These countries also exert social pressure on Muslim women.
Saida Keller-Messahli: Thebasic discourse in almost every mosque is that a woman is only good when she is vailed when she wears a headscarf. Then that woman is a top-notch Muslim, and everyone else is on the wrong track and don’t have God’s blessing.
For this, so many Swiss show no mercy to the woman wearing Niqab. The people on the street demonstratively look away, or they stare.
Niqab wearer: It happens very often that people whisper behind my back that I’m being insulted. It also rarely happened that I was physically attacked, that someone tried to pull the Niqab off my face.
Female Journalist: is society Islam-friendly?
Niqab wearer: who says there is no Islamophobia in Switzerland is oblivious to reality. But I don’t want to lump our society together and claim that.
Saida Keller-Messahli: I have a lot of trouble with the word islamophobe. Ankara is funding a report that brands people like me who are critical of their religion as Islamophobic. That’s a dangerous term. But I don’t deny the existence of racism and xenophobia. This is a well-known phenomenon that must be fought.
Keller-Messahli herself is now at the forefront of the fight for the ban on the use of veiling. For she, a yes would be an acknowledgment of the woman.
Saida Keller-Messahli: They should accept this to say clearly: we in a democratic society do not accept women’s degrading image. The image of a woman who should hide, who should vanish in public space, just because she is a woman.
Niqab wearer: I think it would be a stain of shame if we were to anchor another ban in our federal constitution. For me, on the other hand, it would have far-reaching consequences.
If the initiative is adopted, She will leave the country with her family. For them, renouncing the Niqab is out of the question.
I translated this video from German into English. The original video in German can be found in the link below:
What I found interesting about this video is that even a woman who chose to wear Niqab takes issue with compulsory Hijab, something that can mainly be seen in Iran. As a Muslim who read Quran many times, I have found no verse that asks women to hide their faces from men. As an Iranian who studied in Iran, I have always witnessed those female students like me who do not wholly hide their hairs under their headscarves are treated as less valuable humans and are not given equal opportunities with those wearing complete Hijab.
Mahtab is an Iranian Social activist determined to bring a change in society. She is a strong voice for women in Iran.
