That's My Hijab!!

[Lulua]

That's My Hijab !
Posted on Friday, January 19 @ 00:45:28 EST

I probably do not fit into the preconceived notion of a "rebel".

I have no visible tattoos and minimal piercing. I do not possess a
leather jacket. In fact, when most people look at me, their first thought
usually is something along the lines of "oppressed female."

The brave individuals who have mustered the courage to ask me about
the way I dress usually have questions like: " Do your parents make you
wear that?" or " Don't you find that really unfair?"

A while back, a couple of girls in Montreal were kicked out of school
for dressing like I do. It seems strange that a little piece of cloth
would make for such controversy. Perhaps the fear is that I am harbouring an
Uzi underneath it. You never can tell with those Muslim fundamentalists.

Of course, the issue at hand is more than a mere piece of cloth. I am
a Muslim woman who, like millions of other Muslim women across the globe,
chooses to wear the hijab. There are many different ways to wear it, but
in essence, what we do is cover our entire bodies except for our hands and
faces.

If you're the kind of person who has watched a lot of popular movies,
you'd probably think of harem girls and belly-dancers, women who are kept
in seclusion except for the private pleasure of their male masters. In the
true Islamic faith, nothing could be further from the truth. And the concept
of the hijab, contrary to popular opinion, is actually one of the most
fundamental aspects of female empowerment.

When I cover myself, I make it virtually impossible for people to judge
me according to the way I look. I cannot be categorised because of my
attractiveness or lack thereof. Compare this to life in today's
society: We are constantly sizing one another up on the basis of our
clothing, jewellery, hair and makeup. What kind of depth can there be in a
world like this?

Yes, I have a body, a physical manifestation upon this Earth. But it is
the vessel of an intelligent mind and a strong spirit. It is not for the
beholder to leer at or to use in advertisements to sell everything
from beer to cars. Because of the superficiality of the world in which we
live, external appearances are so stressed that the value of the individual
counts foralmost nothing.

It is a myth that women in today's society are liberated. What kind
of freedom can there be when a woman cannot walk down the street without
every aspect of her physical self being "checked out''?

When I wear the hijab I feel safe from all of this. I can rest
assured that no one is looking at me and making assumptions about my
character from the length of my skirt. There is a barrier between me and
those who would exploit me. I am first and foremost a human being, equal to
any man, and not vulnerable because of my sexuality.
One of the saddest truths of our time is the question of the beauty myth
and female self-image. Reading popular teenage magazines, you can
instantly find out what kind of body image is "in'' or "out.'' And if you
have the "wrong" body type, well, then, you're just going to have to change
it, aren't you? After all, there is no way that you can be overweight and
still be beautiful.

Look at any advertisement. Is a woman being used to sell the product?
How old is she? How attractive is she? What is she wearing? More often than
not, that woman will be no older than her early 20s, taller, slimmer and
more attractive than average, dressed in skimpy clothing.

Why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated like this? Whether the
'90s woman wishes to believe it or not, she is being forced into a mould.
She is being coerced into selling herself, into compromising herself. This
is why we have 13-year-old girls sticking their fingers down their
throats andoverweight adolescents hanging themselves.
When people ask me if I feel oppressed, I can honestly say no. I made
this decision out of my own free will. I like the fact that I am taking
control of the way other people perceive me. I enjoy the fact that I don't
give anyone anything to look at and that I have released myself from the
bondage of the swinging pendulum of the fashion industry and other
institutions that exploit females.

My body is my own business. Nobody can tell me how I should look or
whether or not I am beautiful. I know that there is more to me than that.
I am also able to say no comfortably when people ask me if I feel as
though my sexuality is being repressed. I have taken control of my
sexuality.

I am thankful I will never have to suffer the fate of trying to
lose/gain weight or trying to find the exact lipstick shade that will go
with my skin colour. I have made choices about what my priorities are and
these are not among them.

So next time you see me, don't look at me sympathetically. I am not
under duress or a male-worshipping female captive from those barbarous
Arabic deserts. I've been liberated.