Paper short abstract:

Hijab is the most visible religious symbol. Does it protect or expose their bearers? How they negotiate their identity and what is the meaning of hijab for them? I aim to explore the practice and importance of wearing a headscarf in the Czech Republic for Muslim women who were already born there.

Paper long abstract:

A headscarf, hijab or other form of veiling is the most visible sign of religious identity. It situates its bearers in the space of belongings, natural solidarity and collectivity, group membership; it should protect them from the eyes of men. In Western societies, however, the headscarf does not fulfill such a function; on the contrary, it confronts them with their otherness. In Western perceptions was hijab transformed into a negative stereotype. (Busnioc, Buzoianu, Buzoianu, 2015) According to Abu Lughod (2013), Muslim women are thus portrayed as victims or as terrorists. Veiling makes them visible and puts Muslim women under double pressure. They are under pressure from their own community to "protect their bodies" and at the same time are perceived as oppressed by Western society. The reasons for wearing the headscarf of Muslim women are different from those evoked by the West, i.e. submission to the male dominant society. My goal is to spread the range of meanings that young Muslim women attach to the headscarf in the Czech Republic, how they construct their identities and what consequences the practice of wearing hijab in the religious community and in Czech society has. I created the data based on semi-structured interviews.