My Hijab

Bismillah

They say the hijab is a sign of oppression- Yet since I started wearing it, I have never felt so free.

They talk about the niqaab being a detrement to society, but when I cover my face, I feel like it actually belongs to me- for no stranger to see.

And when people say the long, loose gown I wear is unflattering and ugly-I don't mind, becuase I know I am beautiful in the eyes of my Lord- Al Noor.

People find it obsurd that we lower our gazes- But it feels so liberating that a brother respects me enough not to stare at me.

They say that women in Islam are submissive-Well ofcourse we are,Submissive to Allah- The Almighty.

Despite what you think or believe, there are two sides to every story. Everyone feels differently, thinks differently and reacts differently.This has not been written to defend Islam, but rather to defend the free choice of women, especially the free choice of the Muslim woman.

"When people see me, I wonder if they think “She needs to be liberated! Poor thing!” But in a society where women are stereotyped and pigeonholed, where a certain bra size, body shape and even a certain skin colour represents what is beautiful and what is not. In a society where the more skin you show and the sexier you dress matters more than what is in your brain, and in a society where women are pressured into looking, talking and behaving a certain way- where is the liberation? I was part of this, and I do not criticise women who are still part of this, after all, is it not part of a woman’s freedom to make her own decisions? Which is why it is important for people to understand that a muslim woman can make her own decisions about covering up- the same way a non muslim woman can make her own decisions about the way she dresses. I respect any women who makes her own free choice about the type of life she wants to lead. When I swapped my stylish hairstyle for a hijab, and swapped my skinny fit jeans for my loose fitting abaya, many thought that I had swapped my freedom for oppression. That I was no longer a liberated female. But this could not be further from the truth. The truth being that, with my own brain and my own heart, I had decided to swap my western identity for modesty, integrity, dignity and a form of pure worship, and I have never felt more liberated." (Liberated 2006)

MUSLIMAH X