(Photo Supplied: 1st Annual World Hijab Day. Feb. 1, 2014/Facebook).
An event hoping to build understanding and encourage equality is back in Fort McMurray. The 2nd Annual World Hijab Day is Feb. 1 at the Peter Pond Mall. The event was a response to a Quebec bill that proposed a ban on overt religious symbols at public sector jobs.
“The Hijab is not a discussion. It is a mandatory part of the religion. It is not something you can bring forth in a bill, Bill 60, and it’s not something you can just ask someone to take off,” says Organizer Kiran Malik-Khan.
Bill 60 was tabled in the Quebec legislature and would have included bans on the hijab, turban, kippa and cross. It was eventually defeated, but Malik-Khan says World Hijab Day will continue to dispel common misconceptions.
“You do it with heart, you do it with that conscious decision that you are embracing that religion to the fullest […] it’s not oppression at all,” she says.
Women are encouraged to look at themselves in a new way this weekend. Organizers hope participants will gain some understanding as they’ll be set up at the mall for anyone who wants to try on a hijab. The event runs from 12:30-4:30 p.m.
