Many cultures and religions use a head covering, so no cultural appropriation or misappropriation exists. The hijab women who practice Islam wear merely became the most famous because women of all social strata and in all occupations of that religion wear it.

Annually on February 1st, the world honors women with World Hijab Day so that women in religions and cultures that do not require head coverings can experience it. The scarf headcover goes by many names worldwide, with the hijab gaining the most fame due to its prevalence in the Middle East and adjacent regions, so Modest Eve is here to explain their function!

The Hijab Predates Islam

Many cultures and religions use a head covering, so no cultural appropriation or misappropriation exists. The hijab women who practice Islam wear merely became the most famous because women of all social strata and in all occupations of that religion wear it.

In its earliest development, men of the Middle East also wore a hijab. They worked in the desert and needed to keep sand and debris out of their hair and ears. This predates Islam, which adopted the cultural practice of both genders and applied it to the modesty requirements of the religion.

Indian Sikhism and Head Covering

In the Indian Sikh religion, men wear a head covering. Sikh men begin wearing the dastar at age 11 and wear it until death. It represents their spirituality and gets worn as a sign of equality.

Vising India, you'll commonly spot men wearing the dastar since Sikhism ranks second among the country's religions. Only Buddhism has more followers.

Catholicism and Wearing Head Covers

In the Catholic religion, female religious leaders called nuns to wear a head cover similar in design to a hijab. Only nuns get to wear the habit. Its colors designate their rank within an order and, sometimes, a particular order or sect of Catholicism.

The Amish of the United States of America

The Amish people of the U.S. form a culture, not a religion, although their culture developed from a schism in Germany and Switzerland's European Protestant churches. They practice the religion of Protestant Christianity, but their culture relies on traditional ways of life. They farm and live in their communities in hand-built homes with no electricity. They don't own automobiles or other methods of mechanical conveyance. In Amish culture, women dress modestly, wearing black or gray handmade dresses and head covers called bonnets. They sweep up their hair in a bun or chignon, and the bonnet hides it from view. The high necks of their clothing hide much of their neck, but they don't cover their neck skin as a hijab would.

The Mennonites of the United States of America

Like the Amish, the Mennonites practice the Protestant Christian religion but made the practice of modest living a part of their culture. The women of their culture wear a lace head cover called a covering. The men of their culture wear a coat with no lapels called plain coat. Although religious persecution caused these practitioners of the Anabaptist denomination of the Christian Protestant religion to flee to various corners of the world from Switzerland and The Netherlands, the last bastion of their culture resides in the U.S., where their small community has even established its own universities.

Can Anyone Wear a Hijab?

Of course! To answer the question, "Do you have to be Muslim to wear a hijab?" no, you don't. Both women and men wear the hijab-like garment throughout the world. Women in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and many other locations understand the frustration of hijab hair, like hat hair. Some cultures wear a hijab with hair showing, albeit only a smidgen. So, wearing a hijab, cover, or bonnet would not be cultural appropriation. The only inappropriate thing would be for a woman or man to co-opt a nun's habit or Sikh's dastar, religious garb meant only for religious leaders or believers respectively.

Contact us and shop Modest Eve today for your first hair bonnet, head cap, or hijab. Let us help you try this cultural phenomenon of hairstyling and modest styling.

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Hijabs

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