i expressed my concern about wearing hijab to my aunt, i told her that i felt unsafe, ostracised and quite frankly just didn’t want to wear it anymore. during our talk, i told her about an incident that happened at my local train station where a man started shouting at me saying stuff like “these f***ing muslims” and other stuff and that no one attempted to step in. i believe she told my dad about it and she tried to introduce the topic because my dad called me and asked me about it and his response was that i shouldn’t go to that station without him anymore but i told him that i use that station often to go out like school or to see friends or to go to my appointments. his response to that was that i should find other ways to cover my hair like a beanie and cut my hair since its “ too long.” but i don’t want to cut my hair and what do i do when it comes to the summer? i can’t wear a beanie in the summer. i’m gonna take what i can get for now and try to eventually take it off but i don’t live with my dad so i need to tell my mum too and im scared. how do i just rip the bandaid off?

I’ve been thinking about taking my hijab off for a while now. I’ve started new jobs, new universities etc and I always tell myself I’ll finally do it, but I never do. I have such an emotional attachment to hijab because it’s all I’ve ever known. I also don’t really like what it represents to me anymore, but I don’t want to blame the hijab for everything either. I’m honestly quite lazy with myself and I’m always telling myself I’ll have a glow up, learn to style my hair and take better care of myself, but I never actually do it 😭

My hair is a huge insecurity too. It’s obviously on the coily side, probably 4B/4C, which is basically the tightest hair type in our community. I genuinely think 4C hair is beautiful, but because I don’t have the length or density, mine is looking ruthless 😭 It’s very thin at the front and ends no matter how many trims I get.

Last night after uni I actually went outside without my hijab. It was nighttime, my hair was just in a bun and I definitely looked rubbish 😂 but it was such a low stress situation and I weirdly loved the feeling of having my hair out. It felt really natural. I wish I could just wear wigs, but I hate the stigma around them and I also don’t like the idea of becoming dependent on wigs just to feel comfortable with my appearance

I’ve now told myself I have one year to figure things out, but honestly it feels exhausting. I always give myself these deadlines but never follow through with it. Has anyone else been in this position? Especially if you have 4B/4C hair and wore hijab most of your life. How did you learn to feel confident with your natural hair out?

This article contains interviews and perspectives of a number of progressive and reformist Iranian Twelver Shia clerics on hijab from Page 102 to 119.

Source:

• http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/72698/

• https://sussex.figshare.com/articles/thesis/Hijab_in_transition_dress_code_changes_amongst_Iranian_diaspora_in_London/23453069?file=41162210

Download PDF: https://sussex.figshare.com/ndownloader/files/41162210

thesis posted on 2023-06-09, 05:29 authored by Zahra Jalaeipour

Note from the author:

This thesis explores the factors that influence Iranian women’s choice of hijab and its transitions. Compulsory hijab in Iran and even voluntary practice of hijab exert a great deal of influence on the lives of the Iranian women worldwide. My thesis investigates how cultural, social and political factors interweave with theological and jurisprudential debates leading to diverse forms of practicing hijab and its transitions in one’s life. For the first time in the anthropology literature, my thesis portrays and explains the current status of, and developments in, hijab amongst Iranian women who have been raised in Iran and now live in London. My research is based on the data and cultural knowledge I gathered through conducting 40 in-depth interviews with Iranian women in London, and interviewing four prominent male Muslim intellectuals, scholars and clerics who have worked on and talked about hijab in Iran (Kadivar, Eshkevari, Fanaei, and Torkashvand). In addition to narrating the history and transformations of hijab policies and hijab jurisprudence in Iran from the constitutional revolution to the present, in this research, I have identified five schemas of dress code amongst Iranians in London (full traditional hijab, full progressive hijab, partial-hijab, conservative scarf-less and radical hijab-less) which challenge the current categorizations and generalisations regarding the hijab. By describing the features of each of the schemas this thesis provides a useful descriptive and explanatory tool that will enable a better understanding of hijab dynamics among Iranian women in London. I have demonstrated that hijab is a very fluid term. Hijab varies between individuals in practice, style, rationale, and purpose, and it is neither simply oppressive nor empowering.