Zakir Naik – Is Not Hijaab Degrading for a Women

			Good afternoon in dark tonight. My name is Izzy Westbury, I'm the secretary here at the Oxford
Union. I have a short question to ask. You talk about the hijab being something that serves to
protect women. Surely it's extremely patronizing and degrading to prevent a woman from making that
decision for herself. How could you answer that?
		

			Question, Sister, I said in your speech, she talked about the hijab being something that serves to
protect a woman, but how is it not extremely patronizing and degrading and not allowing the woman to
make that decision herself? to suppose Very good question, that when I say that hijab is required
for women, isn't it not degrading for the woman to patronize it? Isn't it degrading? If you read the
Quran, the Quran and Islam has prescribed hijab that means the woman should be covered, the only
part that can be seen or the face and handle up to the wrist. This is for the modesty and it is not
only mentioned in the Quran, it is also mentioned in the Bible. If you read the Bible, in the First
		

			Timothy, chapter number two was number nine. It says that women should be dressed up the same
fixedness they should be so variety and should not wear braided hair, or cold OPERS. It further
mentioned the first Corinthians chapter 11, verse five to six, the woman that does not cover a head,
then she does honors the head, a head should be shaved off. Anyway, I don't agree with this. I'm
just quoting you from the Bible. Same if you go to the Vedas, it says that the woman should cover
the head. So all the religious scriptures they talk about the woman covering their head, it is for
modesty, it is not to degrade the woman. And if we analyze those allegation made against me, saying
		

			that Dr. Zakir Naik says that if they don't wear hijab, you know, that if you wear Western clothes,
there are chances that women will be raped. It is a misquote ation again, what I said that if women
were revealing clothes, they have more chances of being raped what I was doing the same newspaper
Sunday time we spoke against me one year before on the march of ninth 2009 Sunday Times guide and
article in Britain, one out of seven feel that the woman poor, a sexy revealing clothes, she should
be hit. I'm sorry, I don't agree with it. This is the statistics that was given in the Sunday Times
on the ninth of March 2009. That in Britain, one out of seven Britishers believed that the woman who
		

			were revealing and sexy clothes should be it. I disagree with this. Furthermore, one more article
came in 2005. In the same newspaper Sunday Times, it said that 26% of the Britishers they feel that
wearing revealing clothes is partially or totally responsible for the rip. So what I say that the
more modest your desktop, you are expected more. So Islam has prescribed the modest hijab for the
woman not to degrade, but to uplift her. I do agree there may be cultural differences. Islam cannot
force anyone to be adopted. There are cultural differences. For example, I'll give an example that
some societies what they feel that even looking at a woman is a modest sum society's field looking
		

			no problem. But touching a woman is a modest sum of the society's fields shaking and is no problem.
Some society field kissing no problem. Some society field doing anything as long as both agree is no
problem. different societies. And different cultures have got different rules and regulations. When
I went to America, while I was giving a talk, one of the American told me, You Eastern woman, you're
modest, have a shot. I said Why do you call the eastern woman immodest. He told me, You Eastern
woman, you expose your belly.
		

			So in America and western country, exposing belly is a modesty in India. Exposing belly is not a
modesty wearing shorts is a modesty. So whatever your sister, there's different culture, the
different system, Islam cannot force anyone to adopt. It's clearly mentioned in the Quran in surah
baqarah chapter number two was no 256 lycra 15 there is no compulsion in religion. But if some woman
want to add up the hijab, because they feel modest, and they feel respected. I feel no other woman
should disagree. And when I've been to UK I've seen hundreds and 1000s of women who to cover their
hair and who feel that they are uplifted because of this modesty
		

			question.