The Wire

These days, Muslim women are often the target of anti-islamic outcry that has followed the terrorist acts of some extremist. The latest battleground is what Islamic women wear on their head. For muslim women, the Islamic headscarf or Hijab is a sign of religious observance and modesty. However, over the weekend, Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop backed calls by another Liberal Sophie Panopolous that the wearing of the hijab in schools should be banned. Ms Bishop justified the call by claiming that the scarves were being used as a sign of religious defiance. The power to determine what school children can or can’t wear to schools rests with state government, and so far all are backing the right of students to wear the Hijab. But the whole debate has once again raised the cultural gulf that separates muslim and non-muslim Australians. Erica Vowles spoke to four young muslim women – Asmaa, Saima, Fatma and Safa – who are undergraduates at the University of Technology Sydney. All wear the Hijab and have done so since they were young.