Bella Hadid Challenges Global Hijab Bans, Calls for Policy Changes

In many countries like France, India, Quebec, Belgium, it is not good to be a veiled Muslim woman. Discrimination against these women is legion. American model Bella Hadid expresses her solidarity with them by displaying her look from the Proenza Schouler fashion show during New York Fashion Week. She wore an all-black hooded outfit. Bella also shared the story of Hoda, a young girl who was attacked because of her hijab.

In various posts on Instagram, she explained how the anti-hijab bills that are being adopted or have already been adopted reflect not only "Islamophobia", but also the deeply rooted misogyny that pushes men to tell a woman, in 2022, what she can or cannot wear. "Although different forms of hijab and headdresses are starting to appear in fashion, let’s remember the daily struggle, abuse and discrimination that Muslim women regularly face because of their faith," she said.

The American model of Dutch-Palestinian origin says she has seen with her own eyes the discrimination that people of color (POC) and Muslims regularly face in fashion. "I know many of my Muslim sisters have faced unfair projections from others. It’s biased, harmful and downright racist," she says. The 25-year-old model also urges "France, India, Quebec, Belgium and all other countries in the world that are discriminatory towards Muslim women, to rethink the decisions" they have already made or will make regarding "a body that is not" theirs.

According to her, it is not the job of leaders to tell women what they should or should not wear, especially when it comes to faith and safety. "Hijab wearers in France are not allowed to wear their hijab at school, play, do sports, swim, even on their ID photos. You can’t be a civil servant or work in hospitals with a hijab. To get an internship, most universities will say the only way to get one is to remove the hijab. It’s ridiculous and it really shows how Islamophobic the world is without even recognizing it," Bella denounced.