My story started a long while ago; at a time when I put on the hijab and didn’t really get what it was all about. Why does a scarf on my head would please Allah? What’s the connection between covering up and being modest? If Allah loves me, why does He want me to not look ‘attractive’ like other girls? If my hair and my body is a gift Allah gave me by making me a woman, why doesn’t He approve of me to put that out? For a 13 year old teenager, that was the kind of questions going on in my mind. And that was the time when I put it on.

Why did I? Because it felt right. With all the misconceptions and lack of understanding of what this Hijab is, all I knew and felt was that I am a grown up now, and Allah wouldn’t want me to wear it if it wasn’t for my own good. ‘Till this day, I thank Allah for blessing me with it, and I thank Allah for showing me how my Hijab has been the light of my life day after day. Being a hijabi teenager when most of the girls my age were not, I felt unique. When I walked around, all short and covered up, people looked at me…That’s kind of cool, right?

As a 20 year old now, my Hijab makes me feel secure. It feels like Allah is watching over me. Growing up, I’ve always made the following duaa ‘اللهم استخدمني و لا تستبدلني’, and now I know that my prayer was answered when I’ve become a representative woman of this wonderful deen (religion).

Covering up made me feel preserved. Preserved for the one person that would deserve to have that when I get married; and when my father walks me down the aisle to my man inshAllah, I will feel like a wrapped up gift. Hijab is one of the things I’m most grateful for, and I’m so proud to have it as a first step in my grown up life. Trust me when I tell you, extra garment on you has more to it than you can ever imagine.

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I am 24 and recently reverted to Islam. I have been wearing hijab for just over three months now.

I don’t just like my hijab, I love it. It has become such a part of me and I would feel very off without it. The first day that I started wearing it, it just felt so right.

My hijab is not a burden or a pain or a nuisance. It is not hot or itchy. It is not in the way, annoying, or cumbersome. It is not time consuming or ugly. It is not oppressive or restrictive; it does not prevent me from doing anything. My hijab is nothing bad, nothing negative, and nothing harmful.

My hijab is pretty and nice and awesome. It is comfortable, warm, and protective. My hijab is empowering and powerful.

My hijab reminds me that I am always in the presence of Allah swt. It reminds me of my faith and to stay strong in it.

My hijab says please don’t be negative around me; I don’t have room for your darkness. It says make small talk with me. It says I am strong. It says look at me with respect; look at me not my body; have interest in me not my body. It says please refrain from hitting on me because I do not need your remarks.

I would take what I have now over what I used to have any day. People do not hit on me; I do not get cat-calls. I can just go out and not be bothered, or if people talk to me there is no underlying intention.

My hijab lets me know that I am too beautiful, too precious, and too important to be put on display. It tells me that I am something more than I ever realized.

That is why I choose to not only wear, but love my hijab.

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I have been wearing Hijab for approximately four years and I am proud to say “I am a hijabi!” At times, wearing the hijab was challenging and felt degrading to my confidence, but the few challenges that I faced made me bond stronger to my head scarf. Some may say “the head scarf is oppressing women!” But, let me tell you, as someone who is currently wearing the hijab, my head scarf makes me feel stronger and empowering; and I guarantee that other ladies who wear the hijab can say the exact same. Wearing the hijab, however, is not just covering our hair, it can be thought of as a verb. We act upon it everyday when we put a piece of fabric on our head and head out the door. We look up to our role model Marriam (Jesus’ beloved mother), and follow her footsteps by acting with kindness, acting with modesty, and acting with humility – just like the famous saying “kill them with kindness.

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When I put on the hijab and covered up, I wasn’t spending my day worrying about what I looked like. It gives you a sense of confidence that you can only gain through learning to appreciate yourself for more than just your physical appearance. It makes you feel secure in a way that is very difficult to explain. I felt confident about who I was as a person because I knew that’s what people were going to judge me on when I covered up – all they knew about me was based on my eyes, my facial expressions, and the words I said. There was something very empowering about that.

The hijab, for me, now represents something a lot more than just a piece of cloth used to cover your head. It stands firmly as a symbol of equality. A symbol for women who choose not to let men judge them based on their appearances, but rather, forces them to see women for the people they are on the inside. It gives women a sense of value, it gives women a sense of strength, and it allows women to be in control of the way anyone else sees them. In my opinion, that is one of the strongest messages of equality you could send.

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