The Hijab: A Symbol of Liberation, Not Oppression

Such incidents trigger worst memories in the mid 1990′ of students being expelled from schools and by some of them who countered by successfully suing the French government; of one French student who staunchly fought for her Islamic aqeedah and shaved off her hair in defiance of the educational ban. She declared: “My decision to shave my head is dignified than committing sins by taking off my hijab..” When “religious freedom in France was restricted by a law which outlawed religious proselytizing by persons of all faiths,” the French Minister of Education severely interpreted such law as banning the wearing of the hijab. Thus, he ordered the expulsion from schools of all female students who wore the hijab. President Jacques Chirac of France was even quoted to have pronounced this statement: “Wearing a veil, whether we want it or not, is a sort of aggression that is difficult for us to accept.” The Roman Catholic Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger was alarmed that enacting a law banning the wearing of hijab in public schools would encourage an aggressive anti-religious trend. He commented : “This clumsy law risks reopening … a religious war.”

It is clear that the State and International Laws affirm the right to Islam and the right to wear the veil by Muslims is a fundamental right in as much as it is a substantive right; and for these very reasons it is ordained to be inalienable. The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines declares: The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable. (Article II, Section 6), and that, No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights. (Article III, Section 5).

Furthermore, the right to freedom of religion and the exercise of it is entrenched in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights1 (ICCPR). In the Philippines, Islam, as a comprehensive ad-deen or way of life, is also a deeply significant part of the cultural and ethnic identity of the Bangsamoro people. As such the Muslim Filipinos’ freedom of religion is protected as both a cultural right by Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and as a right of minority groups by Article 27 of the ICCPR which states:

In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.