A milestone was the move by the Philippine House of Representatives to approve a bill declaring the primary day of February yearly as National Hijab Day to advertise a “deeper understanding” of Muslim practices in addition to tolerance for other faiths across the country.
Congress unanimously approved the bill, which has not yet develop into law, on Tuesday, Jan. 26, with all 203 lawmakers voting in favor.
Anak Mindanao Party-list Rep. Amihilda Sangcopan, lead creator and sponsor of House Bill 8249, thanked all lawmakers for passing the bill and urged Senate members to support an equivalent measure.
The aim of the laws is to advertise greater understanding amongst non-Muslim women in regards to the practice and “value of wearing the hijab as an act of modesty and dignity for Muslim women” and to encourage Muslim and non-Muslim women to “experience the advantages of wearing the hijab.” “
The measure also goals to finish discrimination against hijabs and clear up misconceptions in regards to the selection of clothing, which has often been misinterpreted as a logo of oppression, terrorism and lack of freedom.
The bill also seeks to guard Filipino Muslim women’s right to spiritual freedom and “promote tolerance and acceptance of other faiths and lifestyles” throughout the country.
Sangcopan stated that “women wearing hijab face many challenges world wide,” citing examples of “some universities within the Philippines which have banned Muslim students from wearing the hijab.”
“Some of those students are forced to remove their hijab to comply with school rules and regulations, while others are forced to drop out and transfer to other institutions. This is a transparent violation of scholars’ religious freedom,” she said.
She added that the adoption of the bill “will make an enormous contribution to ending discrimination against hijabs.”
“Wearing the hijab is the suitable of each Muslim woman. It isn’t just a chunk of material, but it surely is alleged to be their lifestyle. “The Muslim holy book, the Quran, explains that each Muslim woman has the duty to protect her purity and modesty,” Sangcopan said.
Dr. Potre Dirampatan Diampuan, a member of the Council of the Global Initiative of United Religions, welcomed this regulatory milestone.
“It’s an exercise in what we call inclusion. I think this is a very welcome move in the eyes of the Muslim community,” Diampuan told Arab News.
“A woman wearing a hijab here always gets a second glance. This bill will make it a common sight. The hijab will become a part of our wardrobe as Filipinos,” she added.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, based on the newest UN data, there are over 10 million Muslims within the Philippines out of a complete population of 110,428,130. Diampuan said the bill was a “recognition of the country’s Muslim population” and rejected the concept wearing the hijab was tantamount to oppression.
“If you don’t embrace this religion and understand it, you won’t appreciate this culture,” she said, adding that the move could further empower women within the country.
“Women ought to be appreciated not on the idea of their appearance, but on what they know, what they do and the way they contribute to society…Where secular society says that beauty is in the attention of the beholder, I believe Islam would say that beauty is in the center of this people,” Diampuan said.
The bill requires the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos to look at National Hijab Day by promoting and raising awareness about hijab within the Philippines.
An identical bill was presented by Sitti Djalia “Dadah” Turabin-Hataman in the course of the seventeenth Congress. It approved the third and final reading within the House of Representatives. The recently approved Sangcopan Bill was filed in 2018.
The hijab is a veil covering the pinnacle and chest, worn mainly by Muslim women who’ve reached puberty within the presence of adult men outside the immediate family.
It also refers to any head, face or body covering conforming to certain standards of modesty for Muslim women, with those wearing them being called hijabs.
Islam is the second largest religion within the Philippines, and most Muslims survive the island of Mindanao.
The Autonomous Region of Mindanao is positioned within the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu Tawi-Tawi, but excluding the cities of Isabela in Basilan and Cotabato in Maguindanao.
