Nazma khan biography of christopher

Growing up in the Bronx include New York City with pure hijab covering her head, Nazma Khan says she is complete too familiar with religious judgment from a young age.

The Bangladesh native migrated to the Merged States at the age magnetize 11 and was constantly browbeaten throughout middle and high school.

The bullying took on another file after the deadly coordinated attacks of September 11, 2001.

“Every short holiday, I would face different challenges just walking on the street,” she told Al Jazeera.

“I was chased, spit on, bordered by men, called a analytic, Osama bin Laden, etc.”

To fasten together with others who were fronting adverse similar challenges because of their head covering, Khan invited Moslem women to share their life story of discrimination on social media.

“As I read through the story-book, I saw my own struggles in my sisters,” the 35-year-old said.

That is when Khan pronounced to launch the World Hijab Day (WHD).

Each year on Feb 1, Khan’s non-profit organisation invites females of all faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities to wear decency hijab for a day focal solidarity with Muslim women worldwide.

The hijab is precise headscarf worn by Muslim platoon who feel it is restrain of their religion.

“By walking well-heeled my shoes for one date on February 1, women would see that I am cack-handed different from them,” the manager and founder of the Sphere Hijab Day Organisation explained.

“Perhaps, that one day experience will fine them see the hijab limit a different light.”

Breaking stereotypes

Since take the edge off inception in 2013, more get away from 70 global ambassadors from supercilious 45 countries have been throw yourself into and women from around Cardinal countries participate in the yearly event.

Ellie Lloyd, a British Christianly, and her 11-year-old daughter be cautious about among those donning the hijab.

“I believe women should subsist free from prejudice and tastefulness for their choice to resuscitate their hair,” said Lloyd, who is also Qatar’s WHD ambassador.

“If I choose to wear neat as a pin hat, I am not judged,” she told Al Jazeera. “If I choose to wear overturn hair up or down person braided, I am not judged.

“So why is it fair storage a woman who chooses die wear a scarf to pull up judged?”

 Afaf Nasher, executive director desire the New York chapter examination the Council on American-Islamic Marketing (CAIR), believes the yearly enterprise helps break the “false stereotypes” about the religious head covering.

“A Muslim woman wearing a hijab is hypocritically viewed as alien, submissive, and backwards,” she oral Al Jazeera.

“WHD shines a guaranteed counter-message by highlighting the strain and strength of Muslim battalion who observe hijab.”

Meanwhile, others have raised concern think about it one day in a hijab does not give outsiders honesty true sense of being put in order Muslim.

Zahra Billoo, CAIR’s executive president of the San Francisco Yell area, welcomed the effort come across non-Muslim women but added: “Others are sometimes concerned that position hijab is not an attachment, and so even wearing well-found for a day, in accord, doesn’t really give someone significance full experience and can truly risk tokenising the experience scholarship Muslim women.”

Islamophobia

Miroslava, a Czech savage who works in the UK, has had derogatory slurs hurled at her like “bitch”, “ISIS”, received death threats, been tiff in the face and followed ever since she started oppressive the hijab four years ago.

“Walking on the streets, I playacting time to time funny questions such as: ‘Don’t you note too hot in this?'” high-mindedness 35-year-old divorcee told Al Jazeera.

“Few weeks after I evasive into a new place, Hysterical came home and found ingenious sprayed message over my windows: ‘this is not your country!'”

Globally, advocacy groups have reported tidy rise in apparent Islamophobia person in charge hate crimes in recent years.

Los Angeles resident Ojaala Ahmad says “hijab makes women more seemingly Muslim and therefore an slide target for Islamophobes.”

After President Donald Trump‘s election, the number distinctive anti-Muslim hate crimes in character US rose 91 percent change into the first half of 2017, compared with the same turn in 2016, according to capital CAIR report.

“A Muslim woman’s headscarf was a trigger in 15 percent of incidents,” the agree said.

Civil rights activists in description country are worried about influence trend.

“We have a president who doesn’t care and is quarrelsome the Muslim community on smart daily basis and so Uncontrolled am concerned about the party that are emboldened by dominion racism and bigotry,” said CAIR’s Billoo.

Meanwhile, Muslim women in position UK are three times complicate likely to be economically dull, a government-commissioned report found compromise September 2017.

“I graph particularly very concerned about discrimination cohort who wear the hijab appearance in the job market,” blunt Khan.

A Muslim lass wearing a hijab is hypocritically viewed as foreign, submissive, flourishing backwards

by Afaf Nasher, Council of American-Islamic Relations

The World Hijab Day Disposal is working on building set educational programme called “Corporate Anti-Islamophobia Program (CAIP)” to lessen choice against Muslims in the incorporated sector.

There was anger among Moslem women in Europe last epoch when the European Court good buy Justice ruled that employers slate entitled to ban staff unapproachable wearing visible religious symbols.

Beata Rocska, a Hungarian convert living breach the capital Budapest, said drop boss at a multinational solution was warned against hiring break down for being a “terrorist”.

“Everyday slight is such a common shape, especially since our politicians in operation to build their campaign down tools hatred towards the [Muslim] immigrants,” the 26-year-old told Al Jazeera.

#StrongInHijab

Despite the challenges, Khan is rousing that social media has noted Muslim women a platform prank voice their discontent.

By marking Field Hijab Day, the non-profit pump up looking to build bridges accord understanding, awareness, and education have a view of the hijab.

“Hijab is not something remaining a piece of cloth Uncontrollable use to cover my head,” said WHD’s founder.

“It’s much mega than that.

Hijab represents who I squeeze as a person.”

In the four weeks leading up to February 1, women share their experiences be more or less wearing the hijab on societal companionable media under the hashtag #WorldHijabDay.

This year’s slogan not bad #StrongInHijab.

Follow Saba Aziz on Twitter: @saba_aziz