VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
Madina began wearing hijab full-time at the start of highschool. It was a naturally decision as it correlated
with her values. Similarly for Marva, wearing hijab was something she always aspired to do. Before committing to her desires, she dove into research to understand what it meant and why it was important to her.
After her research into Islam and the Qur’an, it simply made sense to her. At 18 years old when she felt she
was ready, she began covering with the headscarf.
Through wearing hijab you can see which of the people you surrounded youself with are really there for
you, look past your appearance, and support everything you do. It provides you with a lot of insight about
youself and others. Other than the incidences of judgement and possible difficulties arising in the workplace, wearing the headscarf gives both Madina and Marva an appreciation of themselves and their values.
“When I read some of the comments made online and through social
media, it makes me realize that people actually don’t know how we
really are. We’re not all what media makes us to be, they have
everything backwards.”
Following 9/11, a big part of the world turned against Muslims and regarded Islam as a religion promoting
violence. Madina’s elementary school teacher spoke of the news and in that moment all eyes turned to her
as if she was the perpetrator being the only Muslim in the classroom. Madina hadn’t heard anything of the
news until after that moment. As a child, she did not fully comprehend the situation, all she felt was discomfort. Looking back, she understands how the turn of events and lack of exposure of truth created today’s backlash towards Muslims. Through media, society is being fed 24/7 by the people against Islam who
want Muslims to be seen as the enemy. Islamophobia is a means through which political institutions and
leaders and radical groups can generate segregation and build power through fear and hate on mass scales.
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