hijab

American  

[hi-jahb, -jab] / hɪˈdʒɑb, -ˈdʒæb /

noun

1. a traditional scarf worn by Muslim women to cover the hair and neck and sometimes the face.

2. the traditional dress code of Muslim women, calling for the covering of the entire body except the face, hands, and feet.

   to observe the hijab.

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hijab British  

/ hɪˈdʒæb, hɛˈdʒɑːb /

noun

1. a covering for the head and face, worn by Muslim women

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Etymology

Origin of hijab

First recorded in 1885–90; from Arabic ḥijāb “veil, cover, curtain,” from ḥajaba “to cover”

Example Sentences

Less than two weeks after Khomeini assumed power in 1979, women took to the streets to protest his decree requiring the hijab to be worn.

From Salon

That nationwide unrest was triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was accused by morality police of wearing "improper" hijab.

From BBC

Born a few years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, she was raised in an era when hijabs were mandatory and people had to adhere, she said, to the “anti-American and antisemitic policies of the state.”

From Los Angeles Times

The last major protests were in 2022, when demonstrations erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

From BBC

She was recently seen donning a hijab in solidarity with the Somali community.

From The Wall Street Journal