The balaclañas are fashionable, but for some Muslims it is more complicated

When Sagal Jama, a student and creator of content in Toronto, noticed that the balaclavas were becoming a popular winter accessory, he was excited."As the stations and trends change too, I feel that I have to force my outfits to use a hijab and my level of modesty," he said.

He often had to make adjustments when he tried to design trends that did not always work with his hijab, but with the balaclavas he could participate comfortably, simply "buying the article and placing it in the way he is".

Jama, 21, bought five corridors and published videos and photos of her using them in her Instagram and Tiktok accounts.But he realized that the trend also brought some serious problems.

"You can take away a balaclava and leave the trend, but the race, religion and gender are things that someone cannot simply wake up and leave," he said."People can use a balaclavas and be perceived as modern or great, but an Hiyab can be seen as a symbol of oppression or political".

This season, the balaclañas, a hood that covers the head and neck, has taken off as a basic of clothes.Several brands and department stores have begun to sell them in various colors, silhouettes and materials, and have flooded social networks.

Some Tiktok creators have dedicated their profiles to weave elaborate and ornate versions of the accessory, and the hashtag "Basamontañas" has more than 121 million visits in the application.Lirika Matoshi, a 25 -year -old New York designer who has been making hand -failed balaclavas for about a year, said she recently noticed that her sales increased considerably.

"At first they didn't sell so much," said Matoshi.However, a few months ago, "they started selling too much," he added."People loved them".

The balaclava resembles a hijab, a religious veil that Muslim women use.Head handkerchiefs are usually used to maintain modesty or serve as religious symbols, but may have different meanings according to the user.Using a hijab is often a deeply personal experience.

The scarves in the head are also found in other religions and cultures.And while people who use balaclava today are considered fashionable, Muslim women who use children are often discriminated or seen as backward.

Several regions of the western world have imposed herds in recent years.In 2019, Quebec approved a law that prohibited teachers, police and other public sector workers from using religious symbols, including the Hijab, at work.Last year, France voted in favor of prohibiting minors from using children in public areas, a restriction that was already in force for public schools.

"Whites are not considered a threat in the USA.UU.And Western Europe, so they are given much more freedom to use what they want, ”said Anna Piela, author of" Using the Niqab "and visiting professor in the Department of Religious Studies of the Northwestern University."In the context of the fashion of balaclavas, it is not just whiteness, it is white femininity that reads as not threatening".Piela added that although the trend of balaclavas has been adopted by people from all racial origins, "it is the whiteness of some users that makes it conventional".

Maliha Fairooz, a postgraduate student in New York City, noticed that the balaclavas were everywhere in their Tiktok feed.In December, after seeing a white woman to publish a video in a balaclavas that obtained thousands of I like on the platform, Fairooz, 28, responded in their own video, expressing how the people who use the garment can be treateddifferent way according to your race.

In an interview, Fairooz said it seemed ironic that people often see the Hiyab as something upsideYou are being oppressed to cover your hair '".He added: “The color of your skin determines how people will perceive you.Whether it is great and avant -garde, or the other way around ".

While using his hijab in public, Fairooz said he had experienced hate crimes several times.Once they kicked her in a train station and again struck her in the abdomen while heading to lunch."I don't know if people who use Balamontañas experience these things," he said.

This phenomenon, of a religious garment or attire that is fashionable when they are used by non -marginalized groups and, at the same time, puts a group of oppressed people at risk of persecution, is not new.In 2018, Gucci showed a shiny blue turban used by white models during Milan Fashion Week.The turban had a retail price of almost $ 800 and was announced as "ready to get attention while keeping you comfortable and with a characteristic style".

Elizabeth Bucar, a professor of religion at the Northeastern University and author of "pious fashion", said that "it is marketed as a symbol of cosmopolitan elegance, even when the SIJS that use turbans are subject to violence".

With the current trend of balaclavas, and as modest fashion becomes more a part of conventional fashion, Bucar added: “Muslim women who cover their heads continue to face discrimination and harassment.The popularity of a garment has not eradicated gender Islamophobia ”.

But some Muslim women with veil see the trend as a potential way towards a more conscious and empathic understanding of Hiyab.

Tayah Jabara, a 20 -year content creator, hopes that the trend can help people understand the hijab.In a video of Tiktok, he said that he essentially thanked the fashion of the balaclavas, provided that the users of balaclavas without veil took into account a thing: if they feel warm, comfortable, safe or cute with their knife scarves, I hoped that they understood thatShe feels the same while using her hijab.

"I think that when non -Muslim men or women or people who do not use veil see the children, see it as a kind of strange medieval punishment," said Jabara in an interview."When people like the trends that are aligned with the Hiyab standards, I totally agree because, in my opinion, I want my modesty to look like a fashion option".

Matoshi, whose mother uses hiyab, has designed balaclavas adorned with jewelry, feathers and tongue bears.She hopes that her creations can help reinforce a greater understanding of the handkerchiefs in the head and provide another way to use accessories for those who choose to cover the hair.

"I know that women who use children are judged a lot in society," he said."My mother has a hijab.I'm happy that women who have hiyab are finding something fun and creative to use.Maybe it could be a way that people see it as something good ”.

Even so, it is still a nuanced theme.Leah Vernon, a 34 -year -old content creator who has been Hiyab since he was 7 years old, said she has been criticized for her choice to wear a handkerchief in her head and has prevented her from getting a job.

See that the balaclava becomes so popular now invokes "a feeling of‘ good, damn it, it is as simple to use it as disguise, "he said."Then, just put it on and take it away, I definitely feel a kind of slight betrayal".

(This article originally appeared in The New York Times).

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