Western Women Turning to Hijab Chic

The stunning Mariah Idrissi

Muslim model proves it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it.

Mariah Idrissi is a British Asian woman and a fashion model. Shorter than the usual model, but she is of course strikingly beautiful, with flawless skin, large brown eyes framed by perfectly shaped eyebrows, and large, pouting lips. But no-one has ever seen her cleavage, or just how shapely her body is, and they probably never will, for Mariah is a devout Muslim, and the face – and voice - behind the fashion phenomenon of “Hijab Chic”.

Mariah was working in a London shopping centre when she was spotted by a scout for fashion giant H&M, and featured in the store's 'Close the Loop' campaign for recycled clothing, wearing sunglasses and traditional 'hijab' headscarves – the first western fashion model to do so. She has since gained 40,000 followers on Instagram, where she posts daily pictures of her modest costume for that day, has just signed up to the Select modelling agency and is launching her own 'Hijab Chic' fashion brand. Her ideas certainly seem to be catching on with many women, both Muslim and non-Muslim, who apparently like her fashions, and her reasons for them.

Listening to Mariah Idrissi is intriguing. Rather than trying to make a statement for her Islamic faith, which nonetheless remains important to her, she claims that women are sick of being expected to show off their bodies, being sexualised and are now seeking to cover themselves up in clothes which are not revealing, but nonetheless stylish. “It’s not just for Muslim women. I think we’re all so fed up with nudity and the sexualisation of women that we now welcome an alternative,” Mariah told LBC Radio, “I think modest fashion can relieve some of the pressure on young girls as they are growing up, showing them that it's okay to be yourself and wear what you're comfortable in - however you want to dress. That you shouldn't feel pressured to flash your boobs and that you can still be attractive while covered up.”

Being the auld bugger that I am, I allow myself a smile at Mariah Idrissi's views, because they are actually nothing new. I am old enough to recall the late 1970s / early 1980s, and the feminist backlash of that time to men who thought that they had the right to wolf-whistle and make obscene and suggestive comments to every woman who passed them. Women took to wearing body-covering clothes which some at the time called unsightly. Chief among these were denim industrial overalls. The intention was to cover their bodies as much as possible, but once the idea caught on, it didn't take long for the fashion houses to sit up and take notice, and soon there were figure-hugging denim 'overalls' for women on sale across the UK. Overalls became the fashion of the day, they were a 'must have', and in some cases were even considered sexy.

So Mariah Idrissi may very well have a point. Perhaps women, including western – culturally 'Christian' – women are becoming so sick of the behaviour of men who cannot or will not behave themselves, that they are embracing stylish clothing usually associated with Islamic culture, including the 'hijab' headscarf. What is truly sad is that women feel they have to dress thus to detract unwarranted male attention. But then, that of course is only part of the story. Unlike the dungaree overalls of yesteryear, women can wear her fashions, covering themselves up, in something they feel comfortable in, and feel feminine at the same time.

The entire issue throws into sharp relief the fact that everyone should be allowed to wear whatever they wish, so long as that is of their own free choice. As a very forthright atheist, I may very well dislike Islamic women covering themselves up for religious reason, but that's their choice. I am not the one wearing those garments, so I have no right to complain. Sadly, I have seen some other atheists taking a strong line against Islamic women covering up, including some who claim that Muslim women cover up because their menfolk force them to do so, atheists who claim that because Islam is a faith which is oppressive to women they merely seek to help them throw off that oppression, and even one atheist who commented on a story about a possible burqa ban in the UK with one word; “GOOD!”

To begin with, those who claim that Muslim women only cover themselves because men force them to do so are making a generalisation for which they have absolutely no proof, and which I can assure them is most certainly not the case. I once worked beside two Muslim women who were very forthright in their views, and in their faith, and chose to cover their heads with headscarves completely of their own volition. They would even speak often about latest fashions in headscarves, which they became somewhat excited about. Those who claim that Islam is oppressive to women tend to forget that so is Christianity – probably more so in fact, as the Qur'an teaches that men and women are equal (it is the Hadith, the writings of Mohammed, which is more oppressive), whereas the Bible most certainly does not. Instead the Bible teaches that because of Eve tempting Adam, women are meant to be subservient to men, who are supposed to have dominion over women. And as to those seeking a ban on 'Islamic' clothing, I do not see them and those who claim to be 'helping' Muslim women complaining about the dress and head coverings of Christian nuns.

And of course, women do not need the help of these men – and it largely is men – seeking to get rid of Islamic dress. Indeed, for anyone to even attempt to do so is actually somewhat condescending to women, and downright misogynistic, if not outright sexist. By attempting to oppress 'Islamic' dress, those doing so are effectively saying to those women wearing it “There, there, dear. Obviously you are a fragile pretty girlie who cannot think for herself, so I'll do your thinking for you and I'll decide what you can and cannot wear.” In doing so, they make themselves absolutely no better than those Islamic men who do force women to cover up; they are giving an alternative, they are not allowing women to think or choose for themselves, they are but the mirror of the male Islamist fundamentalist.

Mariah Idrissi actually makes a very good point concerning freedom of choice and freedom of expression. She states that she can buy many things in UK high street stores, with which she can dress modestly yet attractively, but which at the same time do not in any way infringe upon the dress code of her Islamic faith. Among these she included trousers. Interesting to note that Islam has never had a problem with women wearing trousers, yet even today on the first day of 2017, there are men of western Christian culture who still absolutely forbid their wives and daughters to wear trousers, and there are Christian churches who frown upon women worshippers wearing trousers, and some which will even refuse entry to the church to women in trousers. The latter actually happened to a woman friend of mine in the USA. She had been in an extremely bad car accident, in which she was almost killed, and was cut free from a burning car. It left her with horrendous scarring on her legs, which she sought to cover up. After several weeks in hospital, she went in trousers to her Baptist church, which she had been a member of for many years – and her pastor turned her away from the door.

Speaking of Christianity, interesting to note that it is also still very much a rule that women must cover their heads in Christian churches, be it with a hat, or guess what? A headscarf. But then, my mum wore a headscarf, as did my granny – and so did yours.

Makes you wonder if western Christian culture is so very different from that of fundamentalist Islam, doesn't it? But it need not be overt Christianity behind it. Okay, it wasn't yesterday I was at high school, but I do recall a protest by girls at my school demanding the right to wear trousers. It failed, and their reward was for all the protesting girls to be given detention. I am given to understand there are still UK schools, particularly private schools, who insist that girls wear skirts. And if you think that's bad, consider France, where girls cannot wear ankle-length skirts, because they are considered “Islamic”. But then, that is the same France where male police officers patrolled the beaches in the summer of 2016, and rounded on Muslim women wearing Islamic dress, and forced them to remove them in public. Just how different is that to the Iranian dress police who force women to cover up? It's a rhetorical question; the answer is not one jot. France pretends to be merely enforcing their secular constitution. Strangely enough, I do not see male police officers harassing the huge number of Roman Catholic nuns in the 'secular' France and forcing them to disrobe in public.

Mariah Idrissi claims her clothing is a meeting of cultures, and inevitably that is never going to please everyone. She often faces backlashes from knuckle-draggers on both sides of the debate; the anti-Islamic bigots, and the fundamentalist Islamists. During her interview on LBC, one Tweet read out (from a man) stated “I don't see her wearing a Union Jack headscarf.” Leaving aside the fact that the Union Flag is only a “Jack” when flown at sea, strangely enough I don't see many non-Islamic women in the UK wearing Union Flag headscarves, up to and including Queen Elizabeth II. I have however seen Betty wearing a bright green hat, to match her bright green coat. According to the logic of the Tweeter, does that make Her Maj a supporter of Irish Roman Catholicism? Besides, I recall seeing an Islamic woman wearing an all-over costume with the Union Flag, which looked bloody awful in my view, but the reaction from the bigots was “That is OUR flag”, “This is a Christian country”, “She has no right to wear that”, etc, etc.

On the other side, researching this article I came across comments from Muslims saying that she is wearing too much make-up, she is “flaunting” herself, and that her face should be covered completely. Take a guess at which gender these comments came from, and I'll give you a clue - it's not female. Seems the poor woman just can't win, but thankfully it is water off a duck's back to her. She commented on her detractors that she just laughs at them. While I strongly disagree with her faith, I nonetheless admire this lady; she is strong and intelligent, as well as beautiful. If there are any men trying to tell Mariah Idrissi how to dress, I'm seeing no evidence of it – or for that matter over her choice of career as a fashion model. She is obviously a very headstrong and independent young woman, and I get the impression that any man would cross her only at his own risk.

It seems to me that the whole agenda on what girls and women can and cannot wear is and always has been decided by men. Certainly behind it all has always been the attitudes of boys and men. There was a story in the press in 2016 that girls in one school in England were being told to lengthen their skirts, so as not to distract the male pupils. And how often have you heard men say of girls and women that dressing a certain way is “asking for it”?

I've got news for all of you, chaps, girls and women are sexually assaulted and raped from tiny babies to the extremely elderly. Provocative pampers? Erotic surgical stockings? They should dress more conservatively? What could be more conservative than the traditional nurse's uniform, or more disturbingly, girls schools uniforms? Yet these are very popular items for sexual cosplay, and let's not forget that Britney Spears sold an entire No.1 song on the back of a video of girls in school uniforms. So, are nurses and schoolgirls “asking for it”? Indeed, what of Muslim women, in hijab and sometimes even in full burqa, who raped? Were they “asking for it”? Same thing for Christian nuns who are raped – and don't forget some sex shops also sell nuns habits? And for women wearing dungaree overalls? And really, if women become the victims of sexual attacks due to dressing “provocatively”, do tell me, are men who are raped doing exactly the same thing?

No-one has the right to tell another how to dress, and neither should they. That is not what Mariah Idrissi is attempting to do, and neither is she trying to foist Islam upon western culture. All she is doing is giving women an alternative which is comfortable, which covers them – should they wish to be covered, yet which is at the same time feminine. If women choose to adopt that dress, then that is their choice, which no-one – particularly not men – has any right to criticise, or indeed attempt to prevent them doing so. Some women will, some women will not, some women will continue to flash their cleavage. Their choice, not yours. And men, if you have a problem with any of that, you are the problem.

And know something else? It is indeed a fashion, and like all fashions before it – the mini dress, the maxi dress, the kaftan, the dungaree overalls – it will pass, and make way for the next fashion to come in. The one thing it is not is an Islamist takeover of the west, no matter what the anti-Islamic haters and panic merchants would have you believe.