International Purple Hijab Day (sometimes known as Global Hijab Day or International Purple Hijab and Kufi Day) is an

international day Lists of holidays by various categorizations. Religious holidays Abrahamic holidays (Middle Eastern) Christian holidays *Christmas ( Nativity of Jesus Christ, the beginning of Christmastide) *Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God * Epiphan ...

of remembrance for those who have experienced

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

. It is observed on the second Saturday each February. It is most often celebrated by

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s, with women donning a purple

hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...

, but anyone may participate by wearing a purple item of clothing on the day such as a scarf, tie or

kufi A kufi or kufi cap is a brimless, short, and rounded cap worn by men in many populations in North Africa, East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. It is also worn by men throughout the African diaspora. The cap has strong ass ...

Background

Many people believe that violence against women is allowed by

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The Baitul Salaam Network, a group that works with women who have faced domestic violence states that "one of the most ugly

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...

is that Islam gives men the right to beat their wives." The Voice of Libyan Women, an organization that started Purple Hijab Day for the first time in

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, state that this is a terrible misinterpretation and a deliberate misuse of religion. Instead, they say that Islam teaches "Muslims not to harm others." Sanaa Tariq, who organized an event in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, says that "Muslim women should not be regarded as oppressed" and that domestic violence is something that all groups of people care about.

History

When Aasiya Zubair, a

Muslim American Islam is the third-largest religion in the United States (1.34%) after Christianity (67%) and Judaism (2.4%). The 2020 United States Religion Census estimates that there are about 4,453,908 Muslim Americans of all ages living in the United St ...

co-founder of

Bridges TV Bridges TV was a Muslim television network in the United States. It was originally headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Premiering nationally in November 15, 2004, it was the first American Muslim television network to broadcast in the English lan ...

, was murdered by her husband, it came out that she had faced years of domestic violence from her husband. Her murder "led to dramatic changes in the way Muslim communities address domestic violence," said Aasiya Hadayai Majeed, who works the Baitul Salaam Network. Within days of Zubair's death, a grassroots effort began to speak out against domestic violence in the Muslim community. Zubair was murdered on February 12, 2009, and so Purple Hijab Day takes place each year near the date she died to remember her and the domestic violence she suffered. The first Purple Hijab Day was celebrated on February 13, 2010. The color purple was chosen because the color purple "is associated with mourning." People who promote Purple Hijab Day stress that the day is about symbolism, but that "acting in unity will send a strong message for progress in our communities." The first year's events included workshops in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, prayer vigils in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and a moment of silence.

Events

Libya has celebrated by distributing a survey which could be taken anonymously and asked women about domestic violence. The results of the survey were taken to the Libyan prime minister. Some groups, like the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, chose to celebrate on a different day, Wednesday, and presented information and refreshments. In 2015, Purple Hijab Day used the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

s, #EndViolenceAgainstWomen, #PurpleHijabDay and #MuslimLivesMatter to spread awareness of the day.

References

{{Reflist

External links

International Purple Hijab Day
Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Domestic violence awareness Domestic violence-related organizations Islamic feminism Islamic festivals February observances

Background

History

Events

See also

References

External links