I am a devout Christian.

Growing up, I distinctly remember the first time I saw a hijabi in The Hague, Netherlands. I was about 3 years old. It was also the first time I saw a black person, so all in all it was a very culturally enlightening day! I remember I didn’t think it was strange when I was a 3 years old after my mother had explained why these women were covering their heads and I kept that indifferent attitude for most of my life.

About 6 years ago, I met one of my best friends in the entire world who is like a sister to me. She is the most dedicated and devout Muslim I have ever met and we really supported each other in our faith in a school where most of our friends were secular. To me, she was an absolute rock to depend on.

Being friends with a hijabi, I of course became interested in the whys and wherefores of covering up. First, I wanted to know how to style it because I’ve always loved playing around with scarves. Later, I became more interested in the day-to-day implications of wearing it.

Worryingly, I became distinctly aware of the abuse she experienced while just walking down the street and one day, I decided to walk home from her house in hijab just to see what people’s reactions would be like. It was only a 15 minutes walk down a relatively empty street but the experience was enlightening. I got some very intense stares and dirty looks although most people simply looked right through me.

Personally, I have considered becoming a nun several times. As you may or may not know, nuns cover their bodies much in the same way that a hijabi does because it is a sign that they are “married to Christ” aka have dedicated their life to the glory of God and to doing His work. I strongly urge you to speak to any nun or monk you come across because their experience of God and spiritual life is incredibly inspiring and enlightening, even if you don’t personally believe and just want to find out more or talk to someone about your problems.

We live in a world where being religious has become a sign of stupidity, of a servile attitude or weakness of mind. I believe that it is a sign of immense strength. We must declare our belief in God, the Almighty, maker of Heaven and of Earth, loudly and with pride.

I am incredibly proud of my hijabi sisters for being so brave and going out there every day to face the worst aspects of humanity head on.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” [2 Corinthians 4:16-18]

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One year ago, on January 1st 2013, my sister and I finally made the decision to start hijab. We thought about it many times and got pretty close to making the decision to start, but for different reasons would back out. It was scary to change our lifestyle. We could not imagine covering our hair, wearing different clothes, and standing out from the crowd.

But we started talking about it more and more. We talked about it so much, even stayed up nights charting out the pros and cons, only to find that there was just one con versus a long list of pros, and that was “what are people going to think of us?” That’s when we realized, what’s more important: People’s opinion of us OR God’s opinion of us. We asked ourselves what are we waiting for, and decided let’s just do it. When we first started wearing hijab, we were holding our breath waiting to hear the criticism and negative comments, but Alhamdullilah we have never received any such negativity from our friends, family, or even strangers.

Over one year of hijab, we have experienced so much. We love that we are visible Muslims. Hijab is an open and unapologetic statement of our faith in the West, and each day we challenge people’s stereotypes and prejudice. We don’t fit into the mould of beauty that is expected, and you won’t see images of girls covered up in magazines or in entertainment lol. However, as feminists we love the rebel status. We challenge people to respect us and know us for what is in our hearts and minds and our character, over our physical appearance, body, beauty and other superficial reasons. Hijab further ensures that we respect ourselves and maintain our modesty. We don’t get negative or condescending attention from men anymore, and have noticed that they lower their gaze and are respectful.

Hijab challenges us to strive to live up to its honour. In this day and age, it is very easy to slip and stray from our faith, but the hijab serves as a constant reminder of what our real aim and purpose is in this life. It has brought us peace and clarity, made us stronger individuals, filled us with confidence and empowered us as women.

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