not gonna lie but im sick of how people can act delebritly obtuse in conversation around hijab and how traumatic it can be . (Thread)

everybody can understand it when people for example hate the french language . they are intellectually/historically aware and empathatic enough to grasp how this language was weaponized.

you can say "but french is just a language" and while its technically correct, it still doesnt erase the fact that for alot of people isnt ; french language was/is still a political matter .

and to some people isnt a matter of it being weaponized, it is simply THE weapon by which their existence was made hell and their narrative was forgotten .

and while some might reach an intellectual level where they recognize the difference btw the language and the weapon, many others couldnt and they refuse to engage with that language.

what drives me crazy is that these people who for whatever reason hate french/publicly mock it or express their hatred are understood, given the space to open up about it and .. respected.

but when I express my hatred to hijab or my total refusal to see it as just something that i have to endure
or as "just a scarf", people take it too personally and lash out on me

dont know about western muslims but hijab in the mena region has ALWAYS been political . saying "its just a scarf dont politicize it!!" not only reeks off lack of empathy but also historical ignorance.

my hatred of hijab isnt hatred of women who wear it , thats not my buisness . i always defend women's autonomy to do even things that i see differently/i dont like , because i have the capacity to understand women are in the posession of free will

but hijab is always going to be something traumatic to me and vivdly associated with politics that deem women as private propreties and vessels for the propagation of values that r not mine .

intellectually i understand the claim that hijab is just a scarf , but on a emotional level that rests on a re-collection of memories made in specefic political/historical context, hijab is more than a scarf, its a policy

and i deserve a space where i can process the aftermath of this policy, unleach my anger of the ones who manifacrured it (men) and mourn the moments of fear, the distance btw me and other women becuz of it

i dont judge those who wear it for whatever reason, weather out of survival (like make up/beauty and all of the vices of the womanly condition that women endure to their best of their ability)

or a conscious decision based on a desire to engage with a dire reality while having a creative, autonomous spirit that re-construct meaning to remain in control and re-gain the sense of freedom that was once taken .

Meaning re-constructing the meaning of hijab according to the individual to be either strictly confined to a form of faith practice or ethical ideal or fashion statement or anything really

so when people tell me some "women chose to wear it" im like okay, good for them . some people chose to learn french, doesnt change anything about french colonializm that happened

and that statment doesnt take into consideration that french NOW is more than just a language but a social/economic capital that without it people will be deprieved of access to many things from essential institutions to just minimum respect

so even if its not institutionally enforced to be learned, its still not a matter of choise but necessity . i hope the same nunance can be applied to hijab and i hope emotional responces are not censored

And i also would like to be given the freedom to talk about the side of women who do not like hijab and center them . The women who like hijab are already given a space where they can speak for themselves. Why cant we?