Cultural Breast Cancer Awareness

Pink Hijab Day

To me, Muslim women wear their faith on their head.

Art & Culture editor reaches Hend El-buri, the founder of Pink Hijab Day, and interviews her about the aim of this move that goes global.

A & C Editor: Tell us more about this global day. Why did you choose the Hijab as a symbol? And why pink in particular?

El-buri: I created Pink Hijab Day a few years ago as a way for Muslim women to initiate dialogue with non-Muslims who might see a group of women in pink hijabs and be encouraged to ask questions about Muslims as social activists, about the hijab, or about Islam in general. To me, Muslim women wear their faith on their head. In the West, this is something that already gets a lot of attention and stares.

As for why pink, it is the color for breast cancer awareness (pink ribbons). It makes sense to use pink for the hijab color in our campaign. However Women participating in this march can choose any shade of colors to wear, if they consider wearing a pink Hijab is beyond their boundaries of modesty, so wearing a pink ribbon is fine. The main thing is helping them share awareness about  the danger of the breast cancer.

It is important that Muslim women are involved in social and cultural events; try to make their communities better, whether they are in Muslim countries or abroad.

A & C Editor: Was 2008 the first year of this Global Day? If not, tell us more about how this idea started, who is the founder, and how did you find the past years' impact on the participants? 

EL- buri: PHD has grown more and more every year. At first, I started the idea at my high school. Soon it was something that I had got a couple of MSAs to participate in. Last year, I decided to put the event on facebook, and it received attention worldwide.

I was happy that this was something Muslim women in any country could participate in. I've received a lot of e-mails about the event from different places. Women from different walks of life messaged me saying they liked the idea and met other women wore pink hijab like them on this day.

A & C Editor: Is the PHD only for Muslims women or you made it a global theme for all? Tell us real experiences. 

El-buri: The event is global, and anyone can participate: Muslims and non-Muslims. Even many men e-mailed me asking how they could help; I replied them that organizing an event, wearing a pink ribbon, or donating to the fund, are a great way of participating.

A & C Editor: One of the goals of this day is to shatter stereotypes of Muslim women and their Islamic headscarves, to what extent did this idea manage to achieve this goal on the ground? 

El-buri: It depends on the participants in each city, and how they went about the event. Some had discussions panels, some had posters that read "Do You Have Questions About My Hijab?"

I think that people got impressed that Muslim women were being active in fighting breast cancer, and I personally received a few questions. Some would say "I've seen a lot of you wearing pink hijabs, is it a holiday?" and then I could explain what was going on.

A & C Editor: To what extent did you find this campaign bridging the gaps in understanding Muslims and non- Muslims relationship? Do you think social moves can help understand Muslims better?

El-buri: This campaign was an effort to do so, and I think any effort is imperative for people to understand Islam and Muslims.

Understanding is the first step in bridging the gaps between faiths. I think that for Muslims to participate in such social improvement programs gives them a more human face and that Muslims are not only concerned with things that seem exclusive to their causes, like maybe injustices in Muslim countries, but also global crises. At the end of the day, breast cancer can affect anyone regardless of their faith.