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Women in hijabs have rights, but women in niqabs don’t?

COMMENT | I see many non-Muslims in my social circle criticising the hijab ban by the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), citing the right of individuals to dress as they please, as long as it does not prevent them from carrying out their jobs – and I feel a sudden urge to barf.

You see, many of these people who kononnya (supposedly) are standing up for the rights of Muslims to wear the hijab are the same people who used to circulate and comment on pictures of Muslim women in niqabs and burqas, ridiculing them for their choice of attire.

The hijab is the most common type of veil worn by Malaysian Muslim women, compared to niqabs and burqas.

While the hijab covers the head and chest, the niqab and the burqa cover the entire body – the only difference being that the burqa covers the entire face (with a mesh window for the woman to see out) while the niqab does not cover the eyes. In Malaysia, not many wear the burqa.

Here are a few comments I gathered from my Facebook wall, in response to a picture I posted of a woman in a burqa that was being circulated by many and asked why people felt the need to mock them...

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