What does the Hijab mean to a Muslim Woman?
The Hijab today is viewed as a symbol that is open to interpretation. Everyone has something to assume, think, or say about it. But have these people ever silenced their speculations and took the time to listen to an actual Muslim woman who wears the hijab give her input?
THP’s Middle East Correspondent Leen Assiry spoke with Malaak Yassine about what her hijab means to her as a Muslim woman.
“I started wearing the hijab on February 4th of this year. Once I did it, I was like, man, I wish I did this a long time ago. I've been wanting to do it since I was like 12. I literally went up to my parents and I was like I wanna put it on. We were living in the States at the time – a lot of racial slurs and you hear a lot of things – so my parents feared that more than anything even though they were so happy to hear me say it.
People say hijab is a form of oppression, but all they see is a piece of cloth around a woman's head. They don't see the value it carries, the deeper meaning in it. They get it mixed up with the girls who are forced to wear it. These forms of oppression come in cultured context, not religion. There's a difference between doing it for the sake of Allah [God] and being forced to wear it. In a society where the world runs on the fuel of what is consumed with the eyes, I most definitely define the veil as a protection that Allah [God] has granted the Muslim women.
I wasn't always dressing modestly. I was constantly comparing my body shape to others. I always felt that constant pressure of trying to look my best for other people's approval. I wanted to please other people's eyes when I wasn't even pleased with myself. The minute I put on that veil and started wearing baggy clothes, no one knew what my shape is anymore. When I work out, I'm like, ‘Hey I'm doing this for myself, not for anyone else to see’. I'm doing this for me, to be happy with myself. It was just very freeing honestly, from everything.
I know a lot of hijab woman who live in cities like Chicago. They've gotten a lot of hate.
Some of them actually like took it off because of the danger they were put under.
“No matter what, I never want to let go of it. I don’t want to give someone the power to take that away from me. [Whenever] opportunities are taken [away] from me or hate tries to bring me down, I always recall this verse that says, “If Allah finds goodness in your hearts, He will give you better than what has been taken from you, and forgive you. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [part of verse 8:70 in the Holy Quran]”
I love my religion. Islam is literally there for you, your rights are all there already. We're constantly trying to make ourselves worthy and to be approved by others, when, in fact, our religion is already accepting of us. There are Muslim platforms that are voicing out wrong messages because they're so highly influenced by the West, adding on adjectives like ‘modern Muslim’ or ‘hijabi’: where are those terms in our religion? Why isn't there ‘modern Christian’? In this era of empowerment and such, everyone's like using their terms, but we have to add on these different adjectives to fit in. Why can't we just be ourselves? Why do we have to be looked upon as traditional or too conservative, when in fact, it's really not that complicated?
The little kids that are growing up don't know what's going on other than what's on their screens. I pray that they reach out to the older generations to better help them. There's a lot of misleading content on social media. For the non-Muslims, reach out to someone who has the right information/sources – not what you see on social media. That's not us.”