Muslim women promote hijab awareness

The Coalition of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria, Kwara State chapter, on Saturday in Ilorin educated Kwara market women on the importance of the hijab.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the awareness campaign was part of the activities to commemorate the 2025 World Hijab Day, with the theme: ‘Hijabis Unsilenced’.

Some of the associations under the coalition included the Federation of Muslim Women Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Ansarul-ud-Deen Women’s Wing, Al-Mu’minat, and the Standard Bearer Foundation, among others.

The campaign took place at Ipata and Kulende markets and was aimed at informing mothers about the significance of the hijab in Islam.

The FOMWAN State Amirah, Hajia Nimat Labaika, said the annual event was organised to raise awareness about the use of the hijab and to encourage Muslim women to adopt it as their mode of dress.

She explained that wearing the hijab was expected to reflect the teachings of the Qur’an in the daily lives of Muslim women.

Labaika noted that the first celebration of World Hijab Day took place in February 2013 and urged Muslim women to wear the hijab regularly.

According to her, it helps promote solidarity and acceptance within the wider society.

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She advised Muslim parents and guardians to view the hijab as an essential part of dress for Muslim women and encouraged them not to feel hesitant about practising their faith as defined in Islamic teachings.

The FOMWAN Amirah emphasised that the day was established to raise awareness about the discrimination faced by Muslim women and girls who wear the hijab for modesty.

She further explained that the event also served as a platform for advocacy.

Earlier, in her lecture, Dr Taibat AbdulMalik from the Muslim Sisters Organisation described the hijab as a veil worn by Muslim women to cover the head, bosom, and body.

According to her, it provides both spiritual and physical benefits.

She stated that the primary purpose of the hijab was to protect women from unwelcome attention.

Quoting the Holy Qur’an, she said: “O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves their outer garments.”

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AbdulMalik also noted that World Hijab Day encourages women of all religions and backgrounds to wear, experience, and appreciate the hijab.

“It is also a day to educate people and raise awareness about why the hijab is worn, to address the challenges faced by those who wear it, and to show the world that Muslim women are dressed, not oppressed,” she said.

She added that while the hijab is primarily about modesty, it carries a deeper significance beyond simply covering the head—it is a symbolic act of worship.

According to her, modesty is a fundamental aspect of the Islamic faith, and wearing the hijab represents this devotion.