Hijab vs. Habit

Imagine the following scenario:

A man (non-Muslim or course) is walking down the street.  As he continues, he comes across a Catholic nun dressed in her normal attire: the typical black habit and long black dress.  He thinks nothing of the nun as the two pass.  Then, a few minutes later, the same man see another lady with her head covered.  However, this time it isn’t a Catholic nun but a Muslim lady.  She is wearing a black abaya and a hijab of some sort.  He sees her and thinks to himself, “Man, there goes one of those Muslim women dressed in those oppressive clothes.  Her husband must force her to wear that stuff.”

This scenario seems a little hypocritical.  On one hand, what a nun wears is okay and does not represent the oppression of women.  On the other hand, what a Muslim lady wears is considered oppressive.  Yet, there is little difference between the dress of a Catholic nun and a Muslima.  What’s the difference between a hijab and habit?  What the difference between an abaya and the black dress a nun typically wear?  Truthfully, the difference does not lie in looks.  It lies solely the faith of the women in the clothes.

Many non-Muslim (specifically Christian or so-called Christian) Americans are probably guilty of thinking in such a way.  Thankfully, not all think in such a way Alhamdulillah, but it only takes a few.

However, regardless of how many see a Muslima’s hijab as oppressive while a nun’s habit isn’t, it makes little sense.  Women of either faith cover their hair out of respect and modesty.  Indeed, there is at least one passage of the Bible that I’m aware of that orders Christian women to cover their hair.

Nuns are unmarried women who choose themselves to become nuns; they choose to live alone, without a husband and without dependent children.  No one forces them to live a life completely steeped in religion, a life spent with other nuns, children, animals, and maybe the sick or injured.  They decide to spend their days doing housework, gardening, doing some sort of work (sewing, pottery, etc.), tending for others, and so on.  Few work in an office or in the world outside of a hospital, school, nunnery, or their own homes.  If they aren’t even married, who is forcing them to choose a life like this?

In considering this, how hard can it be to think a Muslim lady chooses to wear a hijab on her own?  How hard can it be to see the majority of Muslima’s are not forced to don a scarf or hijab?  What about the lives of most Muslim women and Muslim wives leads people to think they are oppressed?

When one takes a moment to reflect about the differences of a nun and a Muslima, they might discover there really aren’t too many differences when it comes to the basics.  Yet, many choose to label a Muslim woman as oppressed when they see her on the street, dressed in a hijab and maybe even an abaya.  If people are going to call Muslim women oppressed, then Catholic nuns must be equally oppressed.  I mean, that’s what the logic some non-Muslim use says.

But neither group is oppressed.  Yes, there are those select few who might be forced to do what they do – both Christian and Muslim.  However, covering one’s hair and dressing in modest clothes does not translate directly to oppression.  Very little separates a nun from a Muslima, and some Americans just don’t realize the hypocriticalness of their thoughts and opinions.