“Hijab is much more than a fad”.
This is how MuslimGirl.com starts their description of their video. Their main goal is to spread an idea that is not familiar in modest fashion industry nowadays. Hijab is not just a fashion trend, nor is it a way to control Muslim women. On the contrary, Hijab is as dynamic as anything else in the community. It gets effected by wars, colonialism, occupation, revolutions, and independence.
Hijab Timeline
The video starts with the 1910’s, in Egypt when Egyptians moved against the British occupation. Women used to wear Black Abayas and headscarf with a while veil on their faces.
1920’s Kurdistan
1930’s Palestine was a nationalist uprising by Palestinian Arabs in Mandatory Palestine against the British administration of the Palestine Mandate, demanding Arab independence and the end of Jewish immigration.
Then it moves to the 1940’s, when Pakistan gained it independence from the British occupation. It is obvious in the video how women Hijab was loose and emerges their faces.
1940’s Algeria
1960’s Yemen
Later on, during the 1970’s, the Iranian revolution started. Although their Hijab was totally black, we can easily tell the spirit women had back then because of the model’s body and facial gestures. We can see anger, strength and persistence.
1980’s Lebanon
The 1990’s, was a time of directorship in Pakistan. The Taliban gained power and made wearing burka obligatory for women. Women were forced to cover their faces and wear very loose abayas, not for religious reasons, rather political ones. The less power the citizens had, the less change they could make.
2000’s, The war on Iraq started. During the video, we can notice the message the model wants to deliver to us. The Iraqi women were effected by the American culture arriving to them from occupation. What is attractive about it, other than the taboo sign, is that she used their culture against them but they did not succeed in changing hers. Since the way she holds her Hijab can represent how she holds onto it.
Finally, the Arab Spring 2010’s. Since 2010 the revolutions against the Arab government started from Tunis moving to Egypt, Libya and Syria. The Video shows a Syrian Activist lady with flames in her eyes and a need to rebel and change. She wears her Hijab in a way that will not be a burden, still, however, she holds onto it.
This is only the first part of the video, MuslimGirl is generous enough to provide us with more and more of this masterpiece!
