OTTAWA, Canada – As Muslim women in Quebec protest restrictions on wearing the hijab in certain public-sector workplaces, interviews with women at Ottawa Main Mosque reveal another dimension of the debate over religious freedom: the unequal expectations placed on women within their own religious communities.
On October 5, members of Québécoises Musulmanes Tannées gathered in Montreal for their 18th consecutive weekly protest against Quebec’s secularism laws. Demonstrators argued that restrictions on religious symbols, including the hijab, limit women’s employment opportunities and freedom to practise their religion.
“These laws have to be repealed,” one protester told City News, a local news outlet. “Or postponing definitely if they cannot be repealed.”
Quebec has every right to defend secularism in its province by restricting hijab from the public sector. It not only protects secularism, it protects women.
The protests have renewed attention to Muslim women’s right to wear the hijab. However, questions remain about whether women experience the same freedom to reject religious clothing and expectations within their communities.
Inside Ottawa Main Mosque
The controversy prompted me to make a Friday visit to Ottawa Main Mosque, operated by the Ottawa Muslim Association, the separation between men and women was immediately noticeable.
Female worshippers were directed to a separate entrance at the back of the building. Women were expected to dress modestly, covering their bodies and avoiding tight-fitting clothing.
While the imam delivered his sermon in the men’s prayer hall, women gathered in another room and followed the sermon through a screen.
The separation was so restrictive that, as a woman, I was unable to enter or observe the men’s prayer area firsthand.
Gender separation during prayers is common in traditional Islamic practice and is generally explained through religious teachings concerning modesty and interactions between men and women.
However, the arrangements observed at the mosque raised questions about women’s access to religious spaces and the different expectations governing their participation.
Is the Hijab a Personal Choice?
Following Friday prayers, I interviewed two Muslim women about the hijab, gender equality, religious obligations, and personal freedom.
Both defended wearing the hijab as their own decision.
When asked whether family members influenced her choice, one woman responded, “Definitely not because of any family members.”
She explained that she began wearing the hijab at 16 because she believed Allah instructed women to dress modestly.
She also described changes in how boys and young men interacted with her after she began covering her hair, particularly regarding physical contact and personal boundaries.
“It’s a boundary,” she said.
Another woman acknowledged that religious teachings and her upbringing influenced her decision.
“Allah told us to do it, but you have the free will, too,” she said.
Both maintained that women should be able to make their own decisions, including whether to remove the hijab. They also acknowledged that some women are forced to wear it.
Their statements reflected the central argument raised by Quebec protesters: women should have the freedom to decide whether to wear religious clothing.
Yet their comments also raised questions about how freely women can reject expectations considered religious obligations.
Women Acknowledge Unequal Religious Pressure
When asked whether Muslim women face greater pressure than men to follow religious expectations, one interviewee acknowledged that women are often judged more harshly for their appearance and behavior.
“I don’t think it ever had to be this way,” she said.
She explained that women who do not wear the hijab or dress modestly may face criticism, while men who fail to follow religious expectations do not necessarily receive the same scrutiny.
“I think it’s definitely there, but it’s wrong,” she added.
Her comments highlighted a distinction between having the legal freedom to practice religion and experiencing pressure to follow religious expectations.
The women also discussed discrimination outside their communities.
One participant described feeling vulnerable because wearing the hijab immediately identifies her as Muslim.
“I’m like a walking Muslim target,” she said.
Their experiences revealed competing pressures: expectations concerning religious observance within their communities and discrimination from people outside them.
What Does Freedom Mean to Muslim Women?
When asked to define freedom, one woman’s response went beyond religious clothing.
“I feel like I’m always having to choose between my life as a mom, or my life as a wife, as opposed to my life as a person,” she said.
She explained that women are often raised to prioritize family responsibilities, while men may receive greater encouragement to pursue individual ambitions.
Although she spoke “positively” about her husband, she acknowledged the unequal expectations placed on women from a young age.
Her conclusion was striking.
“I don’t think women are free,” she said.
Throughout the conversations, I sometimes sensed hesitation when discussing religious obligations and unequal expectations. The women defended their faith but also acknowledged pressures they considered unfair.
Other women at the mosque were eager to explain how Islam respects women, with some encouraging me to embrace the religion myself.
Their responses provided different perspectives on religious freedom, personal choice, and the role of women within Muslim communities.
Two Sides of the Freedom Debate
Quebec’s secularism controversy has placed Muslim women’s freedom to wear religious clothing at the center of public debate. The province’s secularism laws and restrictions on religious symbols have raised questions about religious freedom, women’s employment opportunities, and the role of religion in public institutions.
Supporters of the legislation argue that restrictions on religious symbols in specified public institutions protect state neutrality. Opponents argue that these restrictions disproportionately affect Muslim women and limit their employment opportunities.
Yasmine Mohammed, author of the 2019 book, Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam, reports she was forced to wear the hijab at nine and the niqab at nineteen, offered a sharply different perspective on the Quebec controversy.
“The hijab is a tool of religious misogyny. It is used to control women and girls. It not only controls what goes on their heads, it controls what goes in their heads as well,” Mohammed told Focus on Western Islamism (FWI).
She argued that the hijab teaches girls they cause fitna and, as such, are instruments of chaos that must be hidden away. The hijab normalizes gender segregation and strips women of their individuality, she adds.
“Quebec has every right to defend secularism in its province by restricting hijab from the public sector. It not only protects secularism, it protects women,” she said.
The interviews at Ottawa Main Mosque highlighted another question: whether women have the same freedom to reject religious expectations.
Although both interviewees described wearing the hijab as their choice, they acknowledged that women face greater religious scrutiny than men.
Their statements also contrasted with the arrangements observed during Friday prayers, where women entered through a separate entrance and followed the imam’s sermon from another room.
These observations do not establish whether individual women were coerced into following religious practices. They do, however, document differences in how men and women participated in religious services.
The debate over women’s religious freedom therefore extends beyond restrictions imposed by government. It also concerns the expectations women encounter within their families and religious communities.
As Muslim women in Quebec continue challenging restrictions on religious clothing, the interviews I had with women in Ottawa raise another question: Do women have the same freedom to remove the hijab, challenge religious expectations, or reject traditions without pressure or punishment?
The debate over women’s freedom cannot stop at the right to wear the hijab. It must also examine the religious and social expectations that shape women’s choices. The women interviewed in Ottawa described themselves as free yet acknowledged unequal pressures that men do not experience in the same way. Their accounts, alongside the gender separation observed at the mosque, raise questions about how equality is practiced within religious institutions. The same scrutiny applied to government restrictions on women’s freedoms should also extend to religious practices that impose different expectations on men and women.
