Abstract
The headscarf, hijab or other form of veiling is the most visible sign of religious identity. It situates its wearers in a space of belonging, of natural solidarity and collectivity, of group membership; it should protect them from the eyes of men.
In Western societies, however, the headscarf does not fulfil such a function; on the contrary, it confronts them with their otherness. The hijab has been transformed in Western perception into a negative stereotype.
The veil makes them visible and puts Muslim women under double pressure. They are pressured by their own community to "protect their bodies" and at the same time are perceived as oppressed by Western society.
The reasons for Muslim women to wear the headscarf are different from those evoked by the West, i.e. submission to a male-dominated society. My aim is to explore the meanings that young Muslim women in the Czech Republic attach to the headscarf, how they construct their identities, and what consequences the practice of wearing the hijab carries in the religious community and in Czech society.