Ex-Muslims International No Hijab Day Statement | February 1, 2025
No Hijab Day was created on 1 February as a direct response to World Hijab Day, which promotes the hijab as a symbol of women’s choice and empowerment. Rather, No Hijab Day seeks to illuminate the coercive and oppressive realities of the hijab as a pillar of sex apartheid and a war on women.
For many, the hijab is not a choice but a religious requirement imposed by honour culture, toxic modesty norms, and legal or familial pressures. It is a visible marker of a broader Islamic system that restricts women’s rights and autonomy.
The religious origins of the hijab underscores its role in control rather than empowerment. Historically, the hijab was used to differentiate amongst believing, free and enslaved women. The idea behind the hijab is that uncovered women and girls will cause fitnah or chaos in society by tempting men. Therefore, Islamic teachings have instilled a culture of shame and submission, warning of women being the majority in hell or facing divine punishment for showing their body or hair.
Across the globe, women face both legal mandates and societal pressures to wear the hijab and cover from head to toe. In countries like Iran and Afghanistan, the hijab is a legal requirement as part of a system of sex apartheid that is imposed by violence and terror. In Iran, mandatory hijab laws have been in place since 1979, sparking decades of protests, including the recent Woman, Life, Freedom movement ignited by the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini in September 2022. In Afghanistan, women and girls are denied access to education, work and freedom of movement by the Taliban. In Saudi Arabia, where so-called reforms have ostensibly loosened hijab restrictions, women continue to be imprisoned for defying dress codes, as exemplified by the case of Manal al-Otaibi.
In Western countries, too, women from Muslim families often face intense social and familial pressures. Tragic cases such as Aqsa Parvez in Canada and Shafilea Ahmed in the UK—both murdered by their families for defying modesty norms—illustrate the grave consequences of these religious pressures.
A symbol that has been used to shame, control, and suppress women cannot be used to combat intolerance and racism. A sexist tool to control and erase women is antithetical to women’s empowerment and visibility. Whilst anti-Muslim bigotry and xenophobia are undeniable, racism cannot be combatted with sexism and the hijab, rooted in modesty culture and oppression.
No Hijab Day stands in solidarity with women who resist mandatory religious dress codes, societal pressures, and institutionalised sex apartheid, which like racial apartheid must be considered a crime against humanity.
No Hijab Day calls for global recognition of the struggle against sex apartheid and the hijab and a commitment to supporting the fight for women’s freedom, equality, and rights.
This year’s theme for No Hijab Day is #HijabSilences to shine a light on the women who remove and refuse to wear hijab and who resist sex apartheid.
How to take part in No Hijab Day:
- We are calling on women of all beliefs and backgrounds to take off their hijab, and put it on a man on February 1.
- Use this opportunity to spark meaningful conversations about purity culture in Islam, challenge sex-apartheid, and show your solidarity with ex-Muslim, Iranian, Afghan, and other women around the world who refuse to wear the hijab.
- Share your thoughts, experiences, and support using #NoHijabDay and #HijabSilences
- Let your voice inspire real change for women’s rights.