For decades, the Western world has championed itself as the global liberator of women. It sends bombs in the name of freedom. It passes laws in the name of equality. And it imposes culture in the name of rights.
But buried beneath the slogans of “liberation” and “empowerment” lies a deeply colonial reality: Feminism was weaponised to dismantle Islamic modesty and reframe the Muslim woman as either oppressed, invisible, or in need of saving.
This is not a rejection of women’s rights — Islam established them centuries ago. It is a rejection of a Western framework that demands a woman’s freedom must be measured by how much of her she exposes — physically, socially, or spiritually.
I. From Colonisation to Covering: A Historical Weapon
The war on hijab is not new. French colonialists in Algeria in the 1800s launched public unveilings of Muslim women as symbolic acts of conquest. To them, if you could strip the Muslim woman of her hayā’ (modesty), you could strip the Muslim community of its resistance.
In 1958, France paraded unveiled Algerian women waving French flags to claim that “Algeria is free.” But freedom, in their eyes, only came when the Muslim woman removed her Islam.
The same tactics were used in British-occupied Egypt and Dutch-occupied Indonesia. Across the map, unveiling the Muslim woman became a tool of empire — a soft war for the soul of a civilisation.
II. The Modern Veil of Progress
Today, the strategy is more subtle — but no less destructive. Instead of force, it uses feminism. Instead of soldiers, it sends slogans.
Hijab is reframed as oppression. Niqab is labelled extremism. And modesty becomes “internalised misogyny.”
But here’s what they won’t tell you:
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- Islam was the first to declare that a woman is not an object.
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- The hijab is not a barrier. It’s a banner — of identity, dignity, and divine connection.
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- The Muslim woman doesn’t need to undress to be seen. She needs to be respected as she is.
III. Muslim Women: Spoken About, Rarely Spoken To
Western liberalism speaks about Muslim women constantly — but rarely listens to them. They are cast in two roles: the veiled victim or the liberated ex-Muslim. But where is the microphone for the woman who chose her hijab, not out of fear — but out of faith?
Where is the spotlight for the Muslim woman who says:
“I wear my hijab not because I’m oppressed, but because I’m free from your standards.”
The answer? She doesn’t fit the narrative — so she’s erased.
IV. When Feminism Becomes a Tool of Empire
Let’s be honest: if hijab were truly oppressive, France wouldn’t ban it in schools. If niqab were truly backward, corporations wouldn’t spend billions trying to undress Muslim women in ads. If Muslim modesty were so irrelevant, why is it the constant obsession of Western media?
Because modesty is resistance. Because a woman who covers herself declares: “I choose what you get to see. I am not yours to consume.”
This terrifies a system that profits from exposure, sexualisation, and uniformity. It cannot control a woman who answers to Allah, not to Vogue.
Conclusion
Islam honours the woman before she is seen. The West honours her only when she’s visible.
Muslim women do not need liberation through undressing. They need the freedom to obey their Lord without persecution.
Hijab is not a weakness to be pitied. It is a strength the system cannot comprehend.
“They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, even if the disbelievers hate it.” (Qur’an 61:8)
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