Why do Muslim women wear hijabs?

MANILA - Several Muslim women in the country celebrated "World Hijab Day" by lending their head wraps to members of other religions in a bid to educate others about the kind of discrimination they face by practicing their faith.

Wearing the hijab, a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women, is a "religious obligation" in Islam, International Alert Philippines Project Officer for Women and Youth Program Nina Bahjin Imlan told ANC's Early Edition.

"The history of the hijab did not start with Islam because we see even in Christian scriptures that Mother Mary wears the hijab," she said.

"It's a symbol of modesty for us. It is a symbol of cultural identification, of religious identification," she said.

Muslim groups and peace-building organizations that participate in World Hijab Day every February 1 hope that by having people wear the hijab, even for just a day will help push for policies against discrimination based on religion.

"We can attribute it (discrimination) to people not really understanding what the hijab is for," Imlan said.

"We cannot blame the people who think this way, but we are really hopeful that this time it would be different," she said.