New Zealand Women Wear Hijabs in Solidarity, Get Criticism from Some Muslims
Female news anchors in New Zealand wore hijabs Friday in solidarity with the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings.
They took their cue from a movement within New Zealand to honor the 50 persons killed by wearing hijabs, beginning with Auckland doctor Thaya Ashman.
Ashman reportedly heard that a Muslim woman was afraid to wear a hijab, thinking it would make her a target of terrorism, pushing Ashman to wear one in solidarity.
“I wanted to say: ‘We are with you, we want you to feel at home on your own streets, we love, support and respect you,'” Ashman said.
This trend is quickly spreading throughout New Zealand as women in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch don hijabs.
Our Police, our Prime Minister, Our News Anchors and many others were in the Hijab today. The Islamic call to prayer was on all the tv and radio stations before the minutes silence. This is my New Zealand. This is my Aotearoa. #thisismynewzealand #christchurch #JacindaArdern pic.twitter.com/FjT8z0UWGx
— Craig Arnold (@craig_m_arnold) March 22, 2019
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose reaction to the Christchurch mosque shootings has been widely praised by the media, also joined the movement.
Ardern donned a black headscarf when comforting the families of the fallen, and pronounced a ban on assault rifles in New Zealand only six days after the attack.
A New Zealand police officer drew attention for wearing a hijab as she guarded a funeral for some of the victims Thursday at Christchurch cemetery.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvQfKBgAnwO/
Though many applaud as New Zealand women communally don their hijabs, others point out that there are Muslim women who have rejected hijabs as a symbol of oppression.
Asra Q. Nomini, a Washington, D.C., professor and former journalist for The Wall Street Journal, took to Twitter to voice her complaints.
“Pls do NOT wear a #headscarfforharmony with Muslims. It is a symbol of purity culture antithetical to feminist values. We have women in jail & dead, for refusing the interpretation of Islam you promote.”
Hi @rachelmacg, We at @freefromhijab are women from Muslim backgrounds. Pls do NOT wear a #headscarfforharmony with Muslims. It is a symbol of purity culture antithetical to feminist values. We have women in jail & dead, for refusing the interpretation of Islam you promote. https://t.co/BvY3xF1bhz
— Asra Q. Nomani, PI (@AsraNomani) March 21, 2019
An anonymous Stuff opinion piece Friday called non-Muslim women wearing hijabs a “gimmick” and “nothing but cheap tokenism.”
“I don’t normally do this but I couldn’t help myself after seeing this ‘movement’ online where non-Muslim women are being encouraged to wear hijab/scarves to show ‘solidarity’ with Muslim women,” she wrote. “As a Muslim woman myself, I think this is nothing but cheap tokenism. It’s a gimmick and pretty distasteful.”
Meanwhile, a diocesan school in New Zealand is taking criticism for banning its students from wearing hijabs at school, saying that this is not compliant with the school’s uniform. The school ultimately said in a statement that students would be permitted to participate only in Friday’s “Scarves for Solidarity” event being celebrated throughout New Zealand.
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