Presently, Muslim girls are a matter of discussion in our country, and suddenly the compass of Indian politics has shifted towards school-going hijabs. While the right-wing claimed that it is an utter violation of the college's uniform policy, the left-wing argued that it is a constitutional right. Anyway, this matter is still in court and commenting on it in detail shall not be appropriate at this point.
But what was most disturbing for us hijabis was when people began to judge our ability and our prolificacy in various matters of our lives due to the hijab we were wearing. There were various sections of people that went on to say that hijab hinders professional growth and most of the hijabis end up doing nothing in their lives except having children. Further, it was claimed that the hijab is a mark of oppression against women, and we hijabis are being tamed in the name of haya, or modesty.
Now the question arises, is the hijab a compulsion for us hijabis or are we being forced to wear a hijab and does the hijab hinder our growth? Well, the answer is an absolute no.
We Muslim girls wear the hijab because it is a personal and independent decision that comes from a sincere yearning to please God while appreciating the wisdom that lies in the command of Allah. Hence, any point of compulsion is ruled out.
The second and the most hurtful judgement we hijabis have had to encounter is that our hijab is our cage and while it's on, there is no chance we can excel professionally. This notion has been proven wrong by various hijabis who excelled in their fields, but most recently, a big blow to this notion came when a girl, Ilham, from Karnataka, who was at the centre of the Karnataka hijab drama, despite all the odds, emerged as a state topper, thus completely demolishing the misconception that was recently budding amongst the Indian masses.
So, the purpose we at ABABEEL shared this article with our valuable hijabis was to make them aware that the world will judge them. It will not be a journey full of roses. You may have to face judgments, misconceptions, and stereotypes, but you need to be strong, firm, and adamant regarding your choices and need to make progress in striving towards excellence without letting anyone else's judgement make you doubt your beautiful choices.