VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
Prior to moving to settle and live in Canada, Naureen and her family resided in the United States for a
few months. She noticed a big difference between the reactions she recieved of the hijab between the two
countries. People directed strange looks towards her dress through which she and her family were labelled
as different and outsiders. Alternately, in Canada she found her welcoming to be very compassionate and
did not feel estranged by her physical appearance. Canada, and in specific Toronto, is very used to different
people coming from different parts of the world and they have been nurtured to have a more open-minded approach for the most part. This isn’t the case in all countries and cities which is why we can see the
variations of Islamophobia, harassement, and negative lived-in experiences of Muslims. Regardless of the
warmth and understanding of diversity in Toronto, we have seen a shift in the treatment and perceptions
of Muslims ever since the 9/11 attacks. Progressively since that day Muslims have been regarded as a violent and an extremely different group of people. There is still compassion and support from others but
there has also been an increase in segregation and attempt to attack back on Muslims.
“It doesn’t weight heavy on my heart because I get so much more out
of the veil and Islam”
There are some activities that cannot be or are not easily accessed because of Islam’s practises such as
swimming where you will and having a nightlife/drinking, but it’s not a big deal. It’s a part of life, you can’t
have everything you want and realistically, you don’t need everything. In the case of swimming, there are
always ways around it, such as accessing women’s only hours.
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