Twitter Calls 'Emergency Hijab Kits' In Canadian University 'Sensational Trash'

The student union of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, is handing out 'emergency hijab kits' to Muslim students who were reportedly harassed on the campus by having their head scarves pulled off and getting spat upon. The move has drawn criticism from a large number of social media users, who called the kits "sensational trash."

These hijab kits were created in partnership with the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NSPIRG). Apart from a piece of fabric, pins and a guide for wrapping the hijab, the kit also provides tips for bystanders and phone numbers for reporting crimes.

Dalhousie Student Union president Amina Abawajy said they decided to create the kits in response to increasing harassment and violence against Muslim women on the university campus, noting that covering their heads with the traditional headgear was intended to provide much-needed feeling of security to the those students.

“We were hearing a lot about safety concerns from Muslim students across campus,” she said Tuesday, National Post reported.

Echoing Abawajy’s thoughts, Dalhousie student executive Masuma Khan said, "Islamophobia is on the rise at the university. I’ve heard many Muslim women talking about their hijab being yanked, spat on, or even pulled right off. Sometimes you don’t even notice it, like you’re in class and someone will spit on you from behind and you don’t realize it until you’re fixing your hijab. It’s the most demeaning behavior.”

Although there have been many rumors of Muslim students reporting such crimes, the university denies the existence of such discrimination on campus. “The university has not had a case where someone has had their headdress targeted,” Janet Bryson, the university’s senior communications manager, said. “Our expectation is that they [the hijab kits] won’t have to be used,” she added.

However, Clark MacIntosh from NSPIRG said that like in case of of gender-based violence, women who have been targeted for their religion might not feel comfortable reporting such incidents for a number of reasons.

“There is a level of identity and safety that comes with a head covering. So when that is taken away, it puts someone in a vulnerable position,” MacIntosh said. “To then have to speak with security or police could be re-traumatizing.”

A Halifax Regional Police spokeswoman agreed with the university’s statement, adding that there have been no reported instances of women’s headgear being pulled off elsewhere in the city. Also, according to Statistics Canada, there has been a decrease in hate crimes targeting the Muslim population of Canada, with 139 such cases getting reported in 2016, 20 fewer than the previous year.

Regardless, Bryson said the university permitted the student union to go ahead with the initiative of providing students with emergency hijab kits. “Dalhousie security has agreed to have the hijab kits on hand should they ever be needed,” Bryson said.

So far, 20 hijab kits were distributed in the university campuses — in Halifax and Truro — during the course of a week, but none have been used at the time this story was published. A dozen more are expected to be made available in the coming days.

Users of Twitter reacted to the news with mockery.