Non-Muslims who believe hijab is a symbol of oppression have got it backward, say a group of students who have organized a day to educate the campus community about the headscarf and its role in preserving women’s modesty.

Hanan Khaled, an executive with the Muslim Students’ Association, says Hijab Awareness Day on Thursday, November 14, will promote understanding. Members of the group will staff a display in the CAW Student Centre Commons from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We want to inform students on campus about what the hijab is, why women wear it, and what it constitutes,” Khaled says. “I know a lot of people think it’s all about force or misogyny, that they are worn only by women that have come from a different country, but these negative depictions are false.”

Tazeen Ahmed, a fourth-year inter-faculty student majoring in biology and Spanish, says the hijab is part of an Islamic injunction promoting modesty.

“We are taught to be modest in character and in dress,” she says. “Both men and women must observe this rule.”

Organizers hope to answer questions about the practice and even invite others to wear a hijab for the day.

“Try it on, just to experience it,” says Khaled. “We are hoping to bring participants together at the end of the day to discuss what they have learned.”