Women In Solidarity with Hijabs campaign aims to unite Muslim and non-Muslim Australians

[Methmatician]

A new social media campaign encouraging women to take a photo of themselves wearing a head scarf to show support for Muslim women and religious freedom has been launched.

Women in Solidarity with Hijabs (WISH) began nine days ago and has already attracted almost 18,000 "likes" on Facebook. It comes amid ongoing debate about banning the burkas and in an environment where reports of racial attacks against Muslim women are being made on a daily basis.

Mariam Veiszadeh is a lawyer and community advocate who came to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan. She started the WISH campaign and said she had been overwhelmed by the response. "It's been absolutely amazing," she said. "Every time we share these images the response that we get from everybody is just amazing.

"Not only do Australian Muslim women appreciate it, everybody is incredibly grateful that this mere gesture of sharing photos has a much broader impact on the community. "It's bringing it back to basics and saying we have a lot more in common than we have differences." About 100 images have been shared as part of the campaign, including one by television presenter, Jessica Rowe.



Timing of Abbott's comments 'irresponsible'

Ms Veiszadeh said the WISH campaign was especially important amid debate about wearing the burka or niqab. "Australian Muslim women are already bearing the brunt of Islamaphobia and I suspect the incidents will only increase when the debate is hotting up about the burka," Ms Veiszadeh said.

New security rules introduced in Australian Parliament ban people with facial coverings from sitting in the public gallery. Instead they have to sit in enclosed galleries, where school children commonly sit. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he finds the garment confronting and wished it was not worn, but said the Government could not tell people how to dress.

Ms Veiszadeh said that sentiment was dangerous. "The timing of this debate is incredibly irresponsible," she said. "For our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to give credibility to the likes of Jacqui Lambie and Cory Bernardi at a time when community tensions are already heightened is incredibly irresponsible."

Adelaide woman wears hijab for a week



Kate Leaney is a Christian woman who manages the Welcome Centre in Adelaide - a drop-in centre for refugees, asylum seekers and new arrivals. She decided to wear the hijab for a week in solidarity with her Muslim friends who were feeling threatened in the current climate of fear. She said the majority of the reactions she received were positive, but not all.

"People [are] asking if now I was wearing a hijab does that mean I support ISIS as well and really silly connections like that," she said. "I walked into a petrol station and someone asked me if I was Muslim and I said 'no', because I'm wearing it as a show of solidarity, I'm not pretending to be of a faith that I'm not. "When I answered 'no', they said well what are you wearing that for then? You look like one of them."

She said the week had given her an incredible insight into what her friends go through. "We need the voice of love and compassion to drown out that of fear and prejudice," Ms Leaney said. "If this is a public and practical way that we can do that, then I think we need to do that. "I think all of us as Australians need to band together and do something to show that love will win over fear."

Criticisms levelled at WISH campaign

There has been some concern, however, that the WISH campaign could draw attention away from the real issue. Aicha Marhfour, a freelance journalist from Melbourne, said media attention should be focused on Muslim women actually being attacked or threatened. "One of the key issues that I had and I think a lot of people also shared is that they're well meaning, but I think it's more important to hear from Muslims as opposed to people trying to feel our pain," she said.

She was also concerned the campaign bordered on what she called cultural tourism. "It's all very well to wear the hijab for a day or to stand with your Muslim friends but really what you're doing is you're taking a nice photo, you're sharing a good intention," she said. "But you're going to take off that scarf and you're going to move back into your life, which is free from the threats and intimidation that Muslim women regularly do face."

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Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-0...unched/5786814

[LightHouse89]

I think its wonderful but keep it out of America.