Kansas Univ salon complies with sharia for a day, bans men for Muslim women

Posted on April 10, 2011 by creeping

Salon Hawk to be Sharia Hawk for a day. via Salon Hawk caters to Muslim women with day of modesty | Kansan.com.

Girl talk and pampering of a day at the salon is an experience many Muslim women don’t get. Those who wear a hijab, the traditional headscarf, adhere to a code of modesty that does not allow them to show their hair in public, but Salon Hawk, located on the third floor of the Kansas Union, is sponsoring a special event to allow these women the complete salon experience.

Translated: “code of modesty” = sharia law.

A Day of Modesty will take place this Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., when Salon Hawk will black out their windows to allow the needed privacy.

Many times, Muslim women are treated in back rooms of a salons or go months between hair appointments.

Salon Hawk owner and operator Emily Willis said her experiences hearing stories from clients and friends — who would ask her for at-home haircuts — prompted her to create the event.

“Basically every experience I’ve heard from the girls has been a horror experience,” Willis said. “They can’t just go somewhere and get their hair cut because they require privacy.”

Her vision for the event is to support women whose religion and culture doesn’t fit into mainstream culture.

“Our goal being in the Union is to reach out to every student and give them every opportunity hair care-wise,” Willis said.

The opportunity is there for those who choose it. If the opportunity is only there when it complies with Islamic sharia law, then what you are supporting and enabling is Islamic sharia law.

Salon Hawk is the only provider in Lawrence that offers full privacy curtain services, Willis said. Because of the lack of privacy opportunities, women from as far away as Kansas City are scheduled to attend the event, which will benefit the Lawrence Islamic Center.

The salon always offers privacy curtains by appointment, which Willis says happens about twice per week.

A Day of Modesty will be open to all clients — though no men will be admitted during the event — Muslim or otherwise.

“We don’t care where they come from. We don’t care if they wear the scarf. We don’t care if they don’t wear the scarf,” Willis said. “We cater to the needs of all students.”

All students except men, when Muslim women are present.

By blacking out the windows to comply with Islamic sharia law and protect Muslim women from the wrath of their husbands, Salon Hawk certainly isn’t catering to the needs of all students but to Muslim women specifically. Discriminating against men in the process – clearly they don’t care about that either.

Submitting to sharia law doesn’t help Muslim women integrate into an open, secular society, it further segregates and stigmatizes them. It perpetuates certain beliefs that if they don’t behave and dress “modestly” then other Muslims won’t consider them good Muslims. When that happens it can turn deadly – particularly if the family believes they have been shamed and honor need be restored.
Creating parallel societies, be it for a day or for a buck or for some illogical sense of morality does no one any good. Particularly not Muslim women who enjoy their freedom and don’t want to be forced into a sharia-adherent lifestyle.