I was warming up when I saw my coach debating fiercely with the referee from the corner of my eye. My coach had a look of defeat and suddenly called me over. He told me the referee would not let me play unless I took off my hijab. The referee gave me two options: strip or get kicked out of the basketball game. I was only twelve years old. My throat tightened in disbelief as tears welled in my eyes. I went to the bathroom and took off my scarf. I looked at the cloth in my hands.
Something I considered the crown upon my head, was made into a noose around my neck. Hold us up high. A step of defiance against what? One man? One Islamophobic man? Defiance against Western feminism. An imperialist ideology that has led to the policing, harassment, and loss of agency for thousands of Muslim women. My story is not a fluke, but a story amongst millions of Muslim women. Aisha, who was a student in Mantes-la-Jolie, France, found herself in front of a disciplinary council because she refused to take off her hijab.
She was required to come to school every week where she was forcibly detained, and unable to go to class with her hijab, mix with any children, or eat with others. She stated that she felt violated by the command to undress and had to lose her opportunity for an education. The headteacher then called the police she assumed the headteacher told the police she was threatening her. Multiple police officers came and demanded that Noura leave. Noura began to cry and felt utterly humiliated.
All of the teachers, students, and parent volunteers witnessed her humiliation, including her son. It is critical to point out that the onus is put on Muslim women to appease others even when they are actively being harassed and discriminated against. Muslim women are told they are oppressed, forced to strip, and are deemed responsible for any disruption institutional Islamophobia creates. After, Noura went to several human rights groups to bring charges, but they all refused to defend her.
Her son was so shaken from the experience that he did not want to go to school anymore. These may just be stories to you but to us, these stories are our lives. Imagine that trauma. Imagine being denied an education because of your hijab like Aisha. Imagine being a seven-year-old girl and your teacher snatching clothing off parts of your body that you want to keep covered. Imagine not being able to play a sport that you love. So, what does white feminism do for us?
