Hijab is elephant in the room | Opinion | Toronto Sun

Tarek Fatah on the hijab and civil marriage ceremonies. I tend to think he is right here, for civil ceremonies, the official is performing an official function with legal functions, so Bouchard-Taylor approach of neutrality of the state should be applied.

Where Tarek goes to far, is conflating the hijab and the niqab, and assuming that every woman who wears the hijab is in servitude and a victim of misogyny . The reality is more complex, and the key issue is whether women wearing the hijab are participating in broader society – and many are – and which are not. And to make things more complex, some women wear hijabs with style almost a fashion accessory, some with basic black to signify perhaps more deeply their faith.

And treating the hijab as dramatically different that other religious signs does not make sense, as all religions have gradations of believers, practices and ways of doing things, ranging from more to less integration. And it is in the practical integration into wider society that is important.

On the niqab, no patience, at it does symbolize rejection of wider society in a way that the hijab does not.

Hijab is elephant in the room | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun.