Mixed feelings about "World Hijab Day"

For those who don't know, February 1st is "World Hijab Day". It was started in 2013 by a Bangladeshi New Yorker named 'Nazma Khan.'

On that day, I saw a bunch of posts about how "hijab is a choice!" or how "hijab is empowering.". My university's MSA is even hosting a kiosk and inviting others to try the hijab.

On the one hand, I appreciate WHD for bringing awareness to discrimination and poor treatment that hijabis often face. I do believe it is important to bring awareness to hijab bans and educate people on why some women wear the hijab.

On the other hand, WHD fails to represent the diverse experiences of Muslim women. While focussing on how hijabi women face discrimination, it overlooks the fact that non-hijabi women also face Islamophobia and discrimination. The slogan "hijab is a choice" ignores the reality that many Muslim women are forced to wear it. Ironically, WHD reduces Muslim women to their hijab—treating them as "walking hijabs" rather than individuals with complex identities.

I also think WHD presents hijab as a "core" tenet of Islam on par with prayer or fasting. This can reinforce the idea that a “true” Muslim woman wears hijab, leading both Muslims and non-Muslims to question a woman’s religiosity if she doesn’t. It also reinforces a narrow stereotype of what a Muslim woman is "supposed" to look like.

Another gripe I have is how WHD has co-opted the concept of “modesty.” The official WHD website presents hijab as something women wear for modesty, but the way it’s framed feels reductive. It presents hijab and niqab as the standard of modesty, which can send the message that women who don’t wear hijab are "immodest."

While modesty itself isn’t bad, it often gets weaponized to police women’s bodies and behavior. It also implies that modesty is exclusively about how a woman dresses, ignoring that modesty in Islam is a broader concept that applies to both men and women—not just through clothing but through character, speech, and actions.

I believe Ramadan is a much better representation of Muslims than WHD. It reflects faith, self-discipline, and community—things that unite all Muslims, regardless of whether of gender, race, or whether they wear hijab