Hijab And The Right To Choose: Afghan Women Speak Out

🐟“With the coming of Taliban, the Hijab was imposed on us, along with strict control over how we dress and the colours we wear. We were not allowed to work or drive. They stripped us of our basic human rights, and that is why we fled the country,” says Sorya, a woman who sought refuge in France after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.

ꩲOriginally from Afghanistan, Sorya now resides in France with her family. Ironically, she moved from a country where the Hijab was forcibly imposed to one where the Hijab is banned. But where is the choice for Muslim women?

🦄The issue here transcends the debate over the Hijab itself; it is about the fundamental right to choose and the right to autonomy and freedom. “Clothing should always be a woman’s choice. I stopped wearing the hijab after moving to France, but my younger sister still wears it here because it is her choice,” she explains. The struggle of Muslim women to live according to their own decisions remains a distant dream.

💙Sorya now lives in France, a country often hailed as progressive in the West, yet it is the same country that has banned the hijab. Are these two countries not two sides of the same coin? Sorya’s family illustrates this diversity: her sister chooses to wear the hijab, yet the core issue remains — it is never truly about what a woman wants but about the imposition of the state, whether in Afghanistan or France.

꧋The Taliban, which claims to uphold rights in accordance with its interpretation of Islamic law, has systematically restricted the rights of Afghan women. Most women have been excluded from government jobs, banned from parks and gyms, prevented from traveling without a male guardian and denied education beyond primary school. The Taliban’s policies have reduced women to being held responsible for men’s actions, implicitly blaming them for any sexual harassment or violence if their bodies or faces are revealed.

🎀Women in Afghanistan face restrictions that men do not, with the mandatory hijab being one of the most visible symbols. The ban on women attending private medical institutions is another severe blow to women’s rights. “How can a pregnant woman receive medical care when women are banned from medical institutions? What will happen when there are no female doctors or midwives left?” asks Atifa Amiri, a woman from Afghanistan’s Hazara community. She is currently studying in India, seeking refuge with her parents after her brother, who worked with the United Nations Human Rights Commission, was killed by the Taliban in 2019.

ꦜAtifa further explains that the Hazara community, which has been targeted by the Taliban due to its progressive leanings, has long been disproportionately represented in universities, government jobs and civil society organisations. The community, despite its small population, has produced a remarkable number of female doctors, engineers, politicians, businesswomen and activists.

France, on the other hand, has long had negative connotations associated with the hijab. The French parliament in March 2024 passed a law banning headscarves in schools. It outlawed “symbols or clothing that conspicuously demonstrate a pupil’s religious affiliation". In 2024, French athletes were banned from wearing the hijab during the Paris Olympics.

꧅A member of the 400-meter relay team, 26-year-old Sylla voiced her frustration on social media. “You are selected for the Olympics, organised in your own country, but you cannot participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,” she wrote. She was later permitted to take part in the opening ceremony, but only if she agreed to wear a cap instead of a hijab.

❀Afghanistan and Iran, over the past few years, have enforced the hijab, while countries like France, Austria and India have moved to outlaw it. Sadly, countless women have been assaulted or even killed for either removing their hijab or wearing them “incorrectly", as the tragic case of Mahsa Amini in Iran shows. There are also disturbing reports of women being physically attacked by their own relatives for wearing the hijab. This patriarchal system, which restricts women’s freedom of choice, is the driving force behind both the imposition of the hijab and the anti-hijab sentiment.

꧅“When a commodified mindset toward women’s bodies reaches its peak, these kinds of nonsensical restrictions are imposed —whether by the Taliban or by the Iranian state,” says Umra, a scholar of Politics and International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

𒀰The Quran, in chapter no. 2, verse no. 256, states, “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” This verse underscores that no one can be coerced into anything in Islam—whether it is marriage, conversion or the decision to wear a hijab. However, in our societies, we often find ourselves subjected to governmental control — with authorities dictating our desires and needs, sometimes through the oppressive pillars of extremism. Whether it is the forced dress code of the Taliban or the strict regulations in Iran, such impositions breed alienation and resentment. The tragic death of Mahsa Amini exemplifies the consequences of such forced rules that blurs the lines between culture, religion and politics and harms the very essence of Islam.

In October 2021, I faced humiliation during the Uttar Pradesh 🌸Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services (Prelims) examination, which was held at Lucknow, because I was wearing a hijab. I, like other aspirants, was frisked by female personnel before entering the examination hall, and there was no objection from the invigilators. However, during the examination, a male official demanded that I remove my head scarf. After explaining that I had lost part of my hair due to an acid attack, he left, only to return with the college principal, who insisted that I remove the hijab. I was humiliated in front of everyone, and my examination time was wasted. When my father addressed the issue with the college officials, they threatened to call the police. He was accused of hindering the duties of a government servant.

🍸The issue of Muslim girls wearing hijabs in educational institutions in Karnataka became a national debate in 2022. The controversy was so polarised that Hindu students began protesting against the hijab, wearing saffron scarves and shouting religious slogans.

📖“All the petitioners want is to wear a hijab. Is that too much to ask in a democracy?” remarked Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia of the Supreme Court while hearing the plea. “How is it against public order, morality or health? Or even decency or against any other provision of the Constitution?” he asked. His judgment highlighted a woman’s constitutional right to privacy and the freedom to choose what she wears, as well as the importance of understanding diversity at a young age. It is not merely about Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees religious rights, but about Article 21, which affirms the right to life and personal liberty. It is a woman’s liberty to make her own choice about her body and appearance.

✤During the hijab row, Bibi Muskan Khan, a college student from Mandya in Karnataka, faced opposition from saffron-clad male students when she entered her campus wearing a burqa (veil). “Every religion has freedom. India believes in unity and allows us to follow our culture,” she said. “I was just going to college to submit my assignment. At the gates, a group of boys gathered, telling me I could not enter because I was wearing a burqa. They demanded that I remove it. I barely managed to get inside, and it felt as if the group was about to attack me.”

ཧThis is an ongoing struggle for Muslim women’s right to choose across different parts of the world. The debate surrounding the hijab and Muslim women’s rights is inextricably tied to larger discussions on patriarchy, freedom and cultural identity. For some, the hijab represents an empowering expression of faith and autonomy, while for others, it is seen as a symbol of oppression within patriarchal systems. This tension highlights the need to prioritise women’s autonomy and ensure they are free to make their own choices — whether that means wearing the hijab or rejecting it. Women’s rights, in this context, should not be defined by external judgments but by the ability to live according to their own values, free from coercion or control.

(Resham Fatma is a research scholar of international relations and gender studies. As an acid attack survivor, she is a National Bravery Awardee)