Sputnik- Debenhams is to become the first UK-based department store to launch a range of Muslim modest clothing, including the hijab, the store's trading director international, Jeanette Whithear, said on Saturday.





MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Aab, an international brand selling modest clothing for women, will reportedly launch sales in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester starting May.
"We are delighted to introduce the Aab range to our international and select UK stores… Adding the high quality fashion range to our product mix enables us to offer collections that are highly relevant in both international markets and to our domestic customers and is a step closer to creating a product offer that caters for broader customer needs," Whithear said, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail newspaper.


Aab will offer hijab headscarves, kurti tops, abaya dresses, jumpsuits, kimono wraps and hijab pins and caps.

The products will also be sold in Debenhams stores in Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iran, Indonesia and Malaysia.

A hijab headscarf, worn by some Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, covers the head and neck but, unlike the burqa or niqab, does not cover the face.

Since 2011, there has been rise in countries, outlawing Islamic face and body coverings, including the burka, niqab and hijab. France, Belgium and the Netherlands have introduced complete bans on the burka face coverings and Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Denmark have bans in some places, with Estonia and Albania also debating full bans. The hijab has been banned from being worn in state institutions and state schools in France. Countries cite the difficulty of integration and assimilation, as well as security risks, as the main reasons for the bans.