Hi Dana — thanks for the comment and sharing that perspective.

I definitely agree that in many cases the hijab is not empowering. Societal expectations can make it hard for anyone to understand how their own thoughts are actually their own rather than a reflection of what society wants them to think.

The point that I’m trying to bring out here isn’t whether the hijab is empowering or not. The point I’m trying to think is that there is a possibility that it can be empowering. And the best people to decide that are those who directly live in cultures where there is an expectation. Not someone else from halfway across the globe who is just looking to use this phenomenon as a convenient example in their own arguments but not take the time to understand the complexities of the culture or befriend those that directly live in that culture.