February 1, 2013 marked the first annual World Hijab Day, which was started by Nazma Khan, who emigrated from Bangladesh to the U.S. when she was 11-years-old.
“Social activist” Khan tells her story of being called “Batman” and “ninja” in middle school for wearing a hijab (i.e., what is commonly mistranslated as a Muslim “headscarf”). She entered college after 9/11 where she was called “Osama bin Laden” and “terrorist.” From those experiences, Khan concluded that “the only way to end discrimination is if we ask our fellow sisters to experience hijab themselves.”
On World Hijab Day, non-Muslim women and non-hijabi Muslims (i.e., Muslim women who don’t wear hijabs) are urged to wear a hijab for a day “in recognition of millions of Muslim women who choose to wear the hijab and live a life of modesty.”
