ALBUQUERQUE – Muslim students at the University of New Mexico and college campuses across the country honored “World Hijab Day” amid protests over President Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries.
Students at New Mexico’s largest university and others in Iowa and Virginia on Wednesday set up booths and asked non-Muslim students to take photos of themselves in hijabs and post them on social media.
The day, founded in 2013 by New Yorker Nazma Khan, started in reaction to Muslim women being harassed for wearing the head covering used by some women who practice Islam. Organizers ask non-Muslim women to wear the hijab for a day in solidarity with Muslim women worldwide.
“I love it,” said Sarah Rivali, 33, a non-Muslim student who lives in Albuquerque. “I feel so beautiful. This is such a great idea.”
Students at Bluefield College in Virginia and Simpson College in Iowa also participated in World Hijab Day.
At the University of New Mexico, Muslim students showed non-Muslim women how to wear a hijab. Afterward, students took selfies.