The Veil: Choice, Power, and Agency

The West is obsessed with saving Muslim women from a piece of cloth, and it is actually

hurting us. For centuries, colonial powers used the image of the oppressed veiled

woman to justify their own superiority, ignoring that the veil is often a tool for power.

When Iran forcibly banned the hijab in the 1930s to look modern, it didn't liberate

women; it trapped them. Women like my grandmother became prisoners in their own homes

because police would literally tear their clothes off in the street. Today,

many choose the veil to resist Western standards or navigate public spaces safely. Real agency isn't

about what we wear, it is about having the choice to decide for ourselves.