By Barbara Poley (Australia)
We had a wonderful event in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia introducing many skeptical women to the joy of wearing hijab. After the event we received the following message from one of the participants:
Dear friends, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for inviting us to learn more about you at your World Hijab Day event. No amount of research could equate to a moment of human experience and I was reminded of this yesterday. While I was excited to attend your event to broaden my knowledge, I was admittedly hesitant to try on a hijab, firstly, because it was new and different to anything I had worn before but also because I did not want to be disrespectful or subtract any importance from the reasons why you wear yours by wearing one when it may not hold the same significance for me.
After some informative discussion and a little convincing I decided to take a chance and try one on. I was pleasantly caught off guard by how donning the hijab made me feel and the experience was surprisingly moving. I have often admired the fashionable aesthetics of the hijab but now that I better understand the reasons for you choosing to wear them, my eyes are more open to their more meaningful beauty and I now, more than ever, think it is wonderful that you are able to express yourselves in such a lovely way as wearing your hijab. Thank you again for sharing this opportunity with the Wide Bay community. As a Mother and Teacher of young children I recognize how important it is to nourish young minds by teaching them to understand and celebrate our differences and I am pleased that I brought my son along with me. He may have only come along for the “dress ups” but he has also learned, in a natural and casual way, that we accept one another and that our differences are an interesting and beautiful thing to be cherished. I certainly hope to attend more events like this in the future. You have done a magnificent job in promoting awareness of your community. I wish you peace, understanding and respect.
Pictures from the event:
