Pink Hijab Day was founded in 2004 by Hend El Buri, a high school
student at the time. It began small, in a high school in Columbia, MO. A group
of girls decided to wear pink hijabs one day to encourage others to ask
questions about their hijabs and about Islam. After more and more people began
participating, the Susan
G. Komen Foundation was contacted and
Pink Hijab Day had its start. The girls felt that wearing pink might lessen the
tension of how people view Muslim girls wearing the Hijab, or headscarf. The
creators of this event hope that Pink Hijab Day will encourage people who are
curious about women in Islam and hijab to ask questions to dispel misconceptions.
They also promote taking preventative action against Breast Cancer and to
donate to various Breast Cancer Foundations to find a cure.
The purpose of Pink Hijab Day is threefold:
Hijab – To encourage those who are curious about Muslim women
and about hijab to ask Muslim women about what their hijab means
Society – To encourage Muslim women to participate in
various community improvement projects because we are a valuable part of the
fabric of the societies we live in. One of these projects is the effort to find
a cure for breast cancer
Health – To raise funds for cancer research, and to
encourage all people to maintain their health by getting regular screenings and
to increase knowledge about preventative methods.
Pink Hijab Day was initiated in South Africa by 21yr old Humairah Jassat
of Azaadville, 4 years ago. She had lost an aunt to cancer and after seeing a
few women of her community also succumb to Cancer, she began researching breast
cancer online. She then started Pink Hijab Day in South Africa. She got people
across the country to don pink scarves and then donate to cancer survivors she
regularly visits at government hospitals.
So help, Humairah Jassat by wearing a pink scarf in honour of Pink Hijab
Day and then donate it to Jassat so she can give it to a cancer survivor.
Email her on humairahjassat@gmail.com for
more information, and follow her on Twitter.
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