For many women, wearing a hijab is not a matter of choice

I read Rabina Khan’s article with interest, being an Iranian Muslim woman born and raised in Iran (I proudly wear a hijab. Forget the stereotypes – it’s a sign of style and strength, 1 February). I’m glad Ms Khan brought up the oppression in Iran and how the hijab has been the backbone of a tyrannical regime. I’m an avid supporter of freedom of choice, and will never question how people wish to express themselves or their cultural identity through clothes. But I would stress that the hijab was originally forced on women by men. The philosophy that was gradually introduced was for women to cover themselves so that men would not be aroused. This is what I always found distasteful.

Even at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, women didn’t cover their hair. It was never a cultural identity for Iranian women to cover their hair for a long time after the Arab invasion and certainly not before the Islamic revolution. So please look at the history of all the countries in the world where women are forced or choose to wear the hijab and then call the practice as part of their identity.
Azadeh Salour
McLean, Virginia, US

• A man is definitely not someone who should be telling a woman what to wear – so if Rabina Khan believes that her hijab is a sign of style and strength then who am I to disagree? Sadly, for many Muslim women, it is precisely the case that men are telling woman what to wear, how to wear it, and threatening them with violence if they fail to comply. Unlike Rabina, I do not believe that in most parts of the world it is a matter of choice. Even here in Turkey, where many women do not wear the hijab, there are many who do so because of family pressure – and the consequences of refusal can be very dangerous.

Good luck to her on her personal journey – but let’s not forget how all religions have historically oppressed women.
Phil West
Istanbul, Turkey

• Despite what Rabina Khan says, I cannot see the hijab as anything but a symbol of repression and servility. I feel the same way about a nun’s wimple; wearing such an item is submitting to the religion’s devaluation of the female.
Bonnie Pomfret
Wayland, Massachusetts, US