Amani Al-Khatahtbeh, founder and editor-in-chief of MuslimGirl, told The Huffington Post that her team dreamed up the video after realizing that the hijab was being “commodified” by the Western fashion industry during a time when Muslim women are being discriminated against for wearing it. In fact, fashion brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Uniqlo have started to cash in on modest fashion by releasing their own lines of apparel targeted at Muslim women.

“The hot trend of modest fashion is neglecting the rich history and nuance of the hijab and how it relates to Muslim women’s identities,” Al-Khatahtbeh told HuffPost in an email. “It’s more than just a cloth on our heads. It is a symbol of our power, history, and agency.”

Al-Khatahtbeh explained that the hijab styles in the video are meant to represent a moment in each country or region’s political history that is central to its present-day reality. For example, the producers chose to highlight Pakistan during its movement towards independence, Algeria during its revolution against French rule, and Egypt during its revolution against British colonization.

The Muslim Girl team put the hijab styles in the video within the political context of their decade by layering a historical image into the background. The purpose, according to Al-Khatahtbeh, was to underscore that Muslim women have always been driving forces in their societies — getting involved in politics, protesting on the front lines, and making sacrifices for their countries.

But the fact is that these revolutions haven’t always had a positive impact on women. For example, Iranian women today have mixed feelings about whether the Iranian revolution, which is highlighted in Muslim Girl’s video, helped bring progress to women’s rights in that country.

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