Leave Olympic athletes in hijab alone.
In case you missed it, the entire world exploded over the image of the two female athletes in Rio. Shouldn’t be a big deal right? I mean, don’t get me wrong, one would think that there would be some kind of outcry from some old man stuck in the 1950’s whining about the lack of modesty in the beach volleyball uniforms but the shocking thing is- it’s the exact opposite.
No, I’m serious.
So, why this a big deal? Well, it all started on our favorite petty platform- Twitter. Lots of people have spoken out about the how the hijab is a symbol of evil, domestic violence, and oppression, then going further to state that this not progress at all but in fact, it is us backsliding as a nation.
Okay first of all I have lots of issues with those statements, as a woman and as a feminist.
We do know that the Middle East uses domestic violence and controlling tactics to oppress women. I am not denying this because it is not only blatantly obvious, but as an advocate against domestic violence, I will never invalidate these cases. However this is definitely progress, especially for those women and girls in those situations.
Do you realize how inspiring it would be to see a woman, just like you, succeeding in ways that you did not realize were possible, just because you are a woman? Hear me when I say this: representation is so important. The only way we can make change is if we first introduce the possibility. I hope that somewhere out there that a young girl sees this picture and it shows her that she can do anything she sets her mind to and it will not interfere with her culture or her religion. She doesn’t have to choose.
And for those of you who are still shaking your heads and muttering under your breath, I want you to know two things. First, there is a lovely athlete on our fencing team in hijab. She puts her faith first and thus, she choses to wear hijab in respect to her religion- which leads me to my second point. Would you be so frustrated if a nun was competing? Sounds silly, but it is the same thing. Stop being mad at women who are respecting their bodies. No one is forcing you to put on hijab or forcing you into a nunnery. Chill.
Hijab isn’t evil, but instead the force and oppressive behaviors associated with it is. Calling out a woman playing volleyball in hijab isn’t doing anything but making you look like a hypocrite because you aren’t any better than the people who force women into hijabs. If you think that there is a difference, you’re wrong.
This goes to show that no matter what we do, women are always in the wrong. Someone in the world is probably mad at our girl Kira for wearing a bikini because she isn’t modest enough. I hope that at some point we can stop looking at what the women are wearing and focus on the scoreboard, because last time I checked, these women aren’t in a beauty pageant. They are world class athletes competing for the title of champion.
Go grab another bowl of chips and watch these women slay no matter what they are (or aren’t) wearing. I highly doubt you could keep up regardless.
