There’s just no end to it, is there?
When a non-hijabi woman gets harassed, they say “oh, she doesn’t wear the hijab, what else do you expect?”
When a hijab wearing woman gets harassed, they say “oh, she was wearing too much make-up. That’s not really a hijab, what else do you expect?”
When a woman wears the strictest version of hijab yet still gets harassed, they say “oh, she posts her pictures on Instagram, what else do you expect?”
When a strict-hijab wearing woman who never posts on social media gets harassed on the street, they say “oh, her face is so pretty and uncovered, what else do you expect?”
When a niqab wearing woman gets harassed, they say “oh, she was out after dark without her mahram (family member), what else do you expect?””
When a niqab wearing woman stays at home, they say, “oh, she was alone at home, what else do you expect?””
At this rate, women might as well cease to exist.
I’ve personally heard, or come across these in some form or another throughout my life. So this is not a slippery slope argument. A persistent focus on narrowing the space available for women to participate in public life will inevitably lead to the erasure of women.
Such focus on attire places the burden on the one wronged, not on the wrongdoer. The question should be, why, in spite of following all the “rules”, does it still happen? Maybe because the rules are ineffective. It doesn’t address the problem.
So, what is the problem? It’s the gross and utter disrespect for women’s rights and their innate dignity. Until we can have a proper discussion on that issue, all other changes are cosmetic in nature for people to feel good.
This is not an argument for or against the hijab. It’s an argument for women’s right.