Diaries {حِجَابِ} Diaries

Sorting my way through the pile, I don’t know which to choose o_O. This blue one with black embroidery and embellished with iridescent beads? Or that one: a salmon colored silky georgette triangle? The sheer white chiffon, to be casually draped on the head and thrown over the shoulder is nice.

 Or should I get the black bonnet, with a niqab on top and a jilbab below, leaving only the eyes to be seen. There are so many--squares, and rectangles, triangles with straight edges, zigzag, or scalloped. The colors they come in are too many to be named, ranging from red, blue, and yellow, to tangello, razzmatazz, and salmon. For parties there are hijabs covered with embroidery, beads or sequins, perfectly matched with the day’s outfit :D. And for a common quiet day, there are plain solids in georgette fabric, hiding every strand of hair. So many colors, so many choices, it was enough to confuse any girl. The choice was hard, but at the same time so easy—it was only a piece of fabric after all.

A piece of fabric that represents many things for Muslim women: for those who wear it, it’s a sign of modesty and of humility; they are more than their body. It gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of identity, and unity. They are part of the 1.5 billion Muslims that make up 1/6^th of the world. These women are Muslims. The hijab gives them safety and security. No one looks at them with lust, undresses them with their eyes, or judges them for how they look. 

These women are respected for the strength they have to wear this tiny piece of cloth. A cloth that, while makes them part of one community, at the same time separates them from all the rest because this tiny piece of cloth also comes with a heavy load of responsibility; responsibilities that prevent them from doing immodest things. They are examples for everyone else; they have to live by the ideals the hijab represents.

 These women are strong. The freedom they live isn’t defined by the thoughts and wants of others. They conform only to what they believe, they live for what they believe, and they dress according to what they believe. These women are free.