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To Democrats, Cosplaying the Oppression of Women Is 'Fun'

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  June 01, 2026 5:30 PM

In just over 48 hours, I will be heading to Egypt for a two-week vacation that will take me all over the country. My anxieties about flying aside, I am excited to know that I will soon get to see the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, and thousands of years of history.

In planning this trip, I did a great bit of digging into what I, a Western woman, can expect traveling in a majority-Muslim nation. My research and talking to people who've been to Egypt have mostly reassured me that I do not need to worry about head coverings beyond the hat I've packed to protect me from the Sahara sun. I've heard nothing but good things about the tourist spots, and have been told locals love Americans.

Despite that, I've thrown a scarf in my carry-on. 

Just in case.

Because I know that for many women in Islamic nations, headcoverings aren't a choice. They are mandatory. And in places like Afghanistan, everything but the eyes is completely veiled. Failure to cover up can lead to arrest, beatings, rape, and even execution.

And that's why the hijab is not a symbol of modesty or cultural diversity. It's a tool of oppression and a threat to women's rights globally. But for the Left, who would lose their minds if I dressed like Pocahontas for Halloween, it's a symbol they're far too eager to embrace in their rush to show how tolerant they are.

The most recent Leftist to do this was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. As I noted in a previous column, AOC took a second away from railing about the patriarchy and the oligarchy to speak before an Islamic prayer service in NYC. There were no other women in attendance, and the men ignored and talked over AOC.

To me, that's not only disrespectful, but it's also indicative of where women — even those in elected office — stand in the eyes of New York's Islamic community.

Iranian activist Masih Alinejad, who lives in NYC to protect her against the Iranian regime that has tried repeatedly to kill her for her activism, called out AOC for her cosplaying.

"Hello @AOC, while you smiled in a hijab at a New York event, I was in Federal Court facing the 4th hitman hired by the Islamic Republic to assassinate me, for campaigning for Iranian women to have the same freedom you performed for a photo op. Will you come to court with me in August when I face the 5th hitman? Or does solidarity only work when it doesn't offend the Islamic regime?" Alinejad wrote. "You wore hijab voluntarily in New York. Women are killed in Iran for taking it off."

"You are the very woman who, at every opportunity, protests against violence against women, decries gender segregation, and champions 'inclusion,'" Alinejad continued, "Yet here you stand, smiling and wearing a hijab, at an event in New York,  in the heart of the West, where men and women are strictly separated. To me and millions of Iranian women, this does not look like a choice. It is no longer 'My body, my choice,' but rather 'My body for votes.'"

"They who claim to fight for women's self-determination in the name of feminism voluntarily embrace an ideology that mandates our women cover their hair simply because they are women. They enjoy the prosperity, freedom, and privileges of the Western world, where they may live as autonomous individuals , yet they simultaneously accept that other women should not be afforded the same rights," Alinejad concluded.

Well, AOC saw Alinejad's post and responded. And AOC's reply should give every woman of any political persuasion, pause.

"Hey there!" AOC wrote. "It's the first. This is at a mosque, where we were invited by the congregation to speak before prayer. In this context, head coverings are the respectful move. One of the fun parts of being a rep for NYC is learning different customs for so many communities. Cheers!"

Wow. It's fun to capitulate to an ideology that would bar women like AOC from getting an education, holding a job, or accessing medical care, as they do to women and girls in Afghanistan. What happens in American cities where Muslims have a large population? Will non-Muslim women be expected to wear a hijab as a 'respectful move' then, too?

In Austria, the government already floated the idea of women wearing the hijab in 'solidarity' with Muslim women. In Wales, officials want girls to wear the hijab to experience the 'culture' of Islam. I would argue that's already happening, after slews of Islamist grooming gangs spent years systematically raping British girls and women, with their lawyers arguing these men simply didn't know it was wrong because they hail from cultures where women are considered property and not full citizens with rights.

AOC isn't the only Democrat woman to performatively don the hijab. Minnesota's Lt. Governor, Peggy Flanagan, did that, too, calling the Somalis who've stolen billions from her citizens the 'fabric' of her community. And, of course, Ilhan Omar got praise for being the first woman to wear the hijab in Congress, a move she called her personal choice, and protected by the First Amendment.

That's all well and good, except not one of these Democrats would be caught dead wearing a Catholic chapel veil in a Cathedral. That, they'd argue, is a symbol of patriarchal oppression and not simply Catholic culture. 

They'd also gladly march alongside women wearing those infamous Handmaid's Tale red robes, fear-mongering that President Trump and Republicans are going to turn America into Gilead.

But the hijab? Which is used to make women second-class citizens across the globe? They love it. They embrace it. They think it's 'fun' to don a symbol of oppression and abuse. And I'm warning women now: this won't stop at showing 'respect.' Soon, it will become compulsory because Democrats will not, under any circumstances, offend Islamists.

They've already sold women out to the trans activists, after all.

What makes you think they'll draw the line at Islam? They won't.