When non-Muslim women across New Zealand draped scarves on their heads last month to show their solidarity with Muslims a week after the horrific massacres at two mosques in Christchurch, it was touted by many as a feel-good story in the wake of unbelievable tragedy.
The women who took part in the nationwide gesture wanted to tamp down the fear among Muslim women who cover their hair, many of them rightfully worried that bigots might target them with new acts of hatred.
And yet, when non-Muslim women cover their heads in the wake of a tragedy or on World Hijab Day, they ignore the fact that whether women must wear a headscarf as a matter of faith is controversial even among Muslims.
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