Community Rail Lancashire celebrated World Hijab Day on Thursday 1st February 2024 at Preston Station.
Shahiesta, Karen & Katie from CRL along with Martin Keating from Northern.
World Hijab Day is an annual event founded by Nazma Khan in 2013, taking place on 1st February each year in over 150 countries worldwide. Its stated purpose is to encourage women of all religions and backgrounds to wear and experience the hijab as a way to promote understanding and cohesion.
This year’s event at Preston Station was a real example of the railway community coming together to promote understanding and support a woman’s right to choose what to wear. Community Rail Lancashire teamed with local hijab retailer, Concealed Clothing, to showcase the variety of hijabs available to wear as well to demonstrate how to wear one. a stall was set up at the centre of the station so that passers by could ask questions about the hijab, Islam and Muslim women. Many people stopped to chat with us and to purchase the many headscarves that were for sale. There was a real positivity around the event as railway staff from Avanti, Northern and TransPennine Express joined in by wearing a hijab and going about their usual duties at the station. It helped to create an understanding of hijab and went a long way to dispelling some negative myths and stereotypes of hijab wearers.
A wonderful example of how Community Rail can help to bring different communities together in the shared value of expression.
Shahiesta Raja from Community Rail Lancashire has made a short film on how to wear a hijab and this can be seen by clicking on the YouTube film below:
Thank you to all the railway family that helped to make this event a success.
