Why Do Feminists Like Ilhan Omar Continue to Wear the Hijab, an Obvious Tool of Oppression

The hijab is a tool of oppression. For sure, not every woman who wears it is being oppressed. But do those who choose to wear it ever think about what they're communicating to their sisters around the globe who are forced to wear a hijab by misogynistic cultures? Do women like Ilhan Omar, who choose to wear the hijab, ever consider that they're aligning themselves with the persecutors of women who are being tortured and imprisoned for refusing to wear it? For example, Yasaman Aryani and her mother are being sent to an Iranian prison for 16 years for daring to appear in public without a hijab. Another Iranian woman, Mojgan Keshavarz, was sentenced to 23 years and 7 months. What does Ilhan Omar have to say to them? What can she say to them while wearing the instrument of their oppression?

Those three women, who are true feminists, received their cruel and unjust sentence on July 31. An article published by HRANA, an Iranian organization dedicated to fighting the subjugation of women in Muslim countries, gives the details of the trial:

Yasaman Aryani, Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz, detained civil rights activists of Qarchak prison in Varamin, were sentenced to 55 years and six months imprisonment, combined, on July 31, 2019.

At the branch 28 of Revolutionary Court, judge Moghiseh, sentenced them for “encourage and promote corruption by de-veiling” to 10 years in prison , for “propaganda against the state” to one year imprisonment and for “collusion and assembly to act against national security” to five years in prison. Moreover, Mojgan Keshavarz was sentenced to additional seven years and six months in prison for the charge of “blasphemy”. Lawyer of Aryani and Arabshahi, Amir Reissian, said to HRANA that their lawyers were not allowed to attend their interrogation and trials. Their trials were scheduled without any prior notice.

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