The Dalhousie Student Union is offering emergency hijab kits after Muslim women on campus reportedly had their hijabs pulled off and spat on, but the university says it doesn’t expect the kits will be used.
Amina Abawajy, president of the Dalhousie Student Union, says the emergency hijab kits come in response to harassment and violence towards Muslim women on campus.
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She says the hijab campaign, in partnership with the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group, is an attempt to make Muslim women feel safer on campus and to raise awareness about hate crimes against Muslims.
A Dalhousie University spokeswoman says the school has agreed to have the hijab kits on hand with campus security officials should they be needed but it has not received any reports of headscarves being targeted.
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Janet Bryson says the university’s expectation is that the kits won’t have to be used.
Abawajy says Muslim women may not feel comfortable reporting incidents but that Islamophobia is on the rise.
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