July 2026
It’s great to hear that letter writer Mobashira Khan wears a hijab of her own free will. I would never question her choice or any other Musilm woman’s choice to wear one. I also appreciate her stating that “There should be no compulsion in religion.” Regrettably, many in the Muslim faith don’t agree with her interpretation of the Holy Qur’an.
Women in places like Iran are beaten and tortured, sometimes to death, for not wearing a hajib. Many will remember Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody on 16 September 2022, after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for wearing her hijab “improperly.” Yes, she was wearing a hijab as required, just not “properly” according to the morality police. That’s just one of the ways women in many Muslim-dominated countries are “are oppressed, voiceless or controlled,” a reality that Ms Khan professes to advocate against.
Ms Kahn concludes her letter by saying “The real question is not whether the hijab is a choice. It is whether society is willing to respect that choice.” I counter that the real question should be whether all of the Islamic world is willing to respect the wishes of a Muslim woman who chooses NOT to wear a hijab? Same with things like attending school, going out unaccompanied by a male relative or challenging her rapist in court.
There are many religions that require their followers to wear some sort of headdress, such as Orthodox Jews. The difference is that a married Orthodox Jewish woman will not be beaten or killed if she refuses to wear a sheitel or headscarf to cover her hair. There may be religious and social sanctions, but neither bodily injury nor death would be one of them. Some married Modern Orthodox women have the choice whether to wear a head covering or not.
Anytime I see a woman wearing a hijab, I don’t assume that she’s oppressed. My only concern is that she is indeed wearing it of her own free will, just as any woman in a liberal democracy should be free to do, or not.
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LETTER: Hijab is a choice society should learn to respect – Barrie News
LETTER: Hijab is a choice society should learn to respect
‘The assumption that we are oppressed, voiceless or controlled says more about the discomfort of others than it does about our lived realities,’ says letter writer
Jul 26, 2026 9:00 AM
The question ‘is the hijab a choice?’ is asked so often that it has begun to sound less like curiosity and more like an accusation.
As an Ahmadi Muslim woman, I can answer simply: yes, it is a choice. But it is also more than that. It is a commitment rooted in faith, dignity and a deeply personal relationship with God.
What is striking is how often Muslim women are spoken about rather than listened to. The assumption that we are oppressed, voiceless or controlled says more about the discomfort of others than it does about our lived realities. In trying to ‘liberate’ us, society sometimes ends up doing the very thing it claims to oppose —denying women the agency to speak for themselves.
The hijab is not a barrier to participation in society. Muslim women are teachers, lawyers, doctors, leaders and active contributors in their communities. To reduce a woman to a piece of cloth is not empowerment — it is erasure.
Islam teaches that faith cannot be forced. The Holy Qur’an states, “There should be no compulsion in religion” (2:257).
As an Ahmadi Muslim, I believe that true faith must come from the heart, not from pressure or coercion.
If we are serious about women’s rights, then we must begin by trusting women to define their own choices — even when those choices challenge common assumptions.
The real question is not whether the hijab is a choice. It is whether society is willing to respect that choice.
Mobashira Khan
Bradford West Gwillimbury
