I was born to a Muslim family in Bangladesh. My family was not that religious. My mother did not wear hijab. She was a beautiful, stylish woman. I say ‘she was’ because sadly she passed away from breast cancer in 2007. We moved to London, England in 2004 and that time I was this rebellious teenager who would wear jeans, bunk school and shout at her mum. My mother changed after her diagnosis. She became serious in her prayers, Quran recitation and she began wearing the hijab. At late nights, I would find her crying and supplicating to Allah for forgiveness. You see her illness was terminal. She did not have much time. I was too self-centered to realize that. Gradually my mother lost her hair, beauty and health. She was admitted to a hospice where she gave out her last breath.

For the first time I witnessed death. With my very own eyes. I washed her dead body and attended the funeral prayer. Deep inside, I was empty. Few days later, I touched the Quran for the first time and read it. Islamic shows on TV interested me more than worldly channels. I read this book about death where it says – ‘ Every soul shall taste death’. The punishment in the grave and in Hell for disobeying Allah scared me. I was changing then bit by bit… Finally I began wearing the hijab.

Covering my hair and body completely! It was a new me… I was reborn. I have reverted from the darkness to this Light. It has been 8 years and I am a happy Hijabi along with being happily married and also a very happy mother! My mother is not here today to see all these but I believe it was her tears and prayers to Allah that helped me receive His guidance. Allah guides whom he wills and He guided a sinner like me.

Please mother, forgive me for shouting at you, for hurting you. You never stopped loving me. Ya Allah! Bless my mother with Jannah (Paradise) and bless me as well, ameen.

Dear sisters, life is short. Wear hijab to please Allah. Don’t care what society will say. Live to please Allah, not society.

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I am a born Muslim to a religious Muslim society of Saudi Arabia that commands specific dress codes. Thus I started wearing Abaya (Long-length dress specific to Muslim women) pretty much earlier without realizing its substance. However, with growing maturity and understanding of the doctrine of Islam, I have embraced Hijab from within the depths of my heart with profound sagacity and multifaceted import to it rather than wearing it senselessly just because the law demands for it (which should not be the case anyway).

On this World Hijab Day, I would like all the readers out there to question their purpose. The question needed to be asked is: What is Hijab for you? Is not it much extensive with numerous suggestions that is definitely much more than dress. Having said that, when we talk about the dress aspect of Hijab; the scarf along with a garb, it is not just a textile thing but much beyond that. For me, this attire is the brooch of identity, the reflection of my ideology, assertion of my customs, resistance to cultural imperialism, a fight to break fixated racist image, a mark of solidarity for victims, a mandate for dignity of women against objectification, and an aesthetic appeal to fashion.

In religious terms, it is the representative expression of the intrinsic connection to God (‘abd) and an appendage to the ummah’s (Muslim nation’s) essence (huwiyya). It is an elaboration of an abstract bond between an individual believer and a transcendent power. But is it all? No. Besides being the religious emblem, Hijab has served as multi-dimensional symbol of identity and political resistance throughout history. Hijab is used as a political symbol as much as religious one- it is a cultural way to make a declaration and take a stand.

For me, Hijab with its roots in Islamic theology, branches off outside the realm of religion to multiple tracks: a visual reminder of anti-colonialism, to protest against cultural imperialism, a struggle for recognition, and a resistance against Islamophobia. It is a symbol of Islam that is designed into a symbolic resistance to Western policy of assimilation, to protest the cultural imperialism and to stand in solidarity against stereotyped profiling that comes along being Muslim. Considering the growing violence against Muslims on one hand and on the other hand the upsurge of terrorism in our names, I, through my hijab, stand with the victims. I tell the narrative of a Muslim who is not an alien or a social exile but much like other humans who are social animals. I tell the story of frustrations, of humiliation,  and of struggle. My hijab tells the stories of hate crimes, propaganda, and war against my community.

My hijab speaks of my religion, my solidarity, and my identity. My hijab is a narrative of resistance. My hijab is an assertion of my belief. My hijab is mine.

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