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Religion important to cultural identity
Important of hijab
Important of hijab
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Raghead Since I was born, I was raised on this idea that your life revolves around your religion. Growing up I was told stories and folktales about how much beauty lies in my religion and how blessed and lucky we are to be a part of it. The stories would consist of, how because of god we have running streams of water and beautiful trees that are as tall as the sky with their green leaves highlighting throughout the lands. How we live in a part of the world where we don’t have to endure poverty and famine. How because of god we have the hijab, a beautiful piece of fabric that instills modesty and hope within each woman. But I never understood what was so precious about it, why was it so special? The hijab was always a touchy subject for …show more content…
This major part of me, this part I claimed as my identity I was so confused and unsure about, My mind wandered and began to think of all these reasons why we wore the hijab, I was curious and determined to know why this piece of clothing was so important and wasn’t going to stop until I got answers and began …show more content…
The class turns to me and the room was so silent that in the background you could hear the clock ticking away. Tick tock tick tock, It felt like hours before I could move. My breath was caught in my throat and I was fighting back tears as it felt like my identity was being stripped away at the bone. A strand of hair hits my forehead and I jolted up and yanked my hijab back and bolted out the classroom making a beeline to the bathroom. In that moment, staring at myself with a tear stained face and a runny nose as horrible as it was I realized how important the hijab was to me. It wasn’t just a piece of cloth that hung on my head and It wasn’t just a fashion statement. It was single heartedly one of the most important things about me. It shaped me and made me confident and the moment that it was stripped away I felt bare and exposed. I thought back to all the questions I had and how I felt so empty and confused, but what I finally realized was it’s not the hijab that makes you into who you are It’s how it makes you feel from deep within and while I sat there with tears running down my face I smiled because if I was a raghead well damn I’d be the proudest raghead out
Pashtana said she would rather die than not go to school and acted on her words. Her education is limited and she doesn’t have all the recourses to make school easier, yet she still loves and wants all the knowledge she can get. While I sit in my three story private school, a clean uniform free of holes or loose seams, my macbook air in my lap, the smell of cookies rising up from the cafeteria, wishing to be anywhere else but there. No one has beat me because I want to go to school, no one has forced me into a marriage, I’ve never put my life in jeopardy for the sake of education. Pashtana’s life and choices made me take a moment to stop and reflect on my own life and how fortunate I am to have what I have. We dread the thought of school because to us it is a chore, it’s a hassle, it’s something that messes with our sleep schedule, it is something that gets in the way of lounging around and binge watching Netflix. Pashtana doesn’t take her school and education for granted because she does not have the same liberties we do. While we enjoy driving into the city and shopping over the weekend, Pashtana unwillingly makes wedding arrangements with her cousin. While we complain about our mom nagging us to clean our room, Pashtana is getting beaten by her father because she wants to learn more about the world. While we have stocked fridges and pantries and
One of Sultana Yusufali’s strongest arguments in “My body is my own business” is her scrutinization of the exploitation of female sexuality. Initially Yusufali writes about the injudicious individuals that assume she is oppressed by her hijab. Thereafter, she describes them as “brave individuals who have mustered the courage to ask me about the way I dress”. Moreover, Yusufali’s word choice is intriguing as she utilizes the word “brave” when laymen hear this word they habitually associate the aforementioned with heroic, valiant and courageous. Consequently, Yusufali ensues to comprise her opinions on the hijab and how it carries a number of negative connotations in western society. Furthermore, Yusufali proceeds to strike on the importance
Fatemeh Fakhraie’s essay “Scarfing it Down,” explains how Muslim women suffer because of what they wear. Fakhraie blogs about Muslim women in her website she explains; “Seeing ourselves portrayed in the media in ways that are one-dimensional and misleading." Several people judge Muslim's by their appearance because they assume they're a bad person. The author of this essay wants the reader to know that Muslim women wearing a hijab are not a threat to the world.
The article “My Body Is My Own Business” by Naheed Mustafa is about an Islamic women’s principle that putting on her usual headscarf, or Hijab, actually empowers her as a female, contrary to the popular principle that the hijab represents male oppressiveness. She ex...
The story is about a sixteen-year-old named Amal Mohammed Nasrullah Abdel-Hakim. Amal is an Australian-Palestinian-Muslim girl who lives in Melbourne with her father and mother. During the second semester at McCleans Preparatory School, Amal can’t decide if she should or shouldn’t wear the hijab as a full timer. While she is stuck on the decision she asks for advice from her best friends Yasmeen and Leila from her Islamic junior high school. When she told her parents her idea of wearing the hijab, they ask her if she was sure that she wanted to deal with such a big change in her life. As a test-run, Amal goes shopping with her mom while wearing the hijab. After three hijab-wearing women say “Assalamu-Alaikum” to Amal, she gets a sense that wearing a hijab binds Muslim women together and she feels much more prepared to continue full-time.
For some women wearing a veil is not something that is forced on them but rather a choice of their own. Martha Nussbaum and Maysan Haydar are both authors that try to explain their reasoning that veiling isn't an oppressive tool used against women. Martha Nussbaum's article “Veiled Threats”, is a political and philosophical take on why banning the burqa is a violation of human rights. On the other hand Maysan Haydar’s article “Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering”, is a more humorous and personal take on why veiling shouldn't be as judged or stereotyped. Though Nussbaum and Haydar have equal goals this essay is being used to understand the main argument, claims and whether or not each article has any weaknesses.
Ever pass by Muslim woman in a hijab at the mall or park and think how oppressive and restraining her culture must be? Maysan Haydar, a New York social worker who practices the Muslim tradition of veiling, believes otherwise. In her article, “Veiled Intentions: Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering,” Haydar highlights on her experiences as a Muslim living in an American culture, where showing more skin is the “norm.” Haydar speaks specifically to a crowd who unconsciously makes assumptions about certain Muslim practices, in hopes of sharing the truth behind them. Haydar suggests that, contrary to popular belief, not all Muslim women cover themselves strictly as an “oppressive” religious practice, but that some women, like herself, find
In the short story, Saint Chola, a young Muslim girl is faced with many challenges, the kids at school taunt her for the hijab she wears upon her head. A hijab is an article of clothing from Islamic religion. Her hijab is tugged on during P.E. class multiple times by the same boy. She remains emotionally resilient through the taunting not showing tears or sadness. “And you’ve made up your mind about the hijab. It stays. No matter what” (Kvashay-Boyle). Instead the girl could have broke down and cried from the taunting but she remained resilient by not letting it bring her completely down. The girl’s faith and resilience is tested when she is at an American’s house for Girl Scouts activities, where she is confronted by another one of the young girl’s mother regarding her hijab. The mom questions the hijab and also tells her to take it off and that she does not need to wear it. The young Muslim girl is puzzled by this then proceeds to fail in showing mental resiliency. She fails because she later regrets her decision to take the hijab. She also feels as if she has betrayed her religion and dishonored her parents (Kvashay-Boyle). Some situations make it very difficult to be
The reformation of the country of Iran toward Islam caused turmoil among the people because the drastic changes forced on the people were not easily accepted. One of the major changes is that women were forced to wear veils as a religious requirement. A change in government toward a religion is difficult to overcome because not everyone agrees on the changes and many people want to keep things the way they are. This change to Islam is difficult for Marjane and the other children as she explains “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to” (3). Marjane’s family serves as an example that there are families in Iran who do not strictly follow the Islamic religion and do not understand why they are being forced to follow the government mandated rules. Although many people did not believe the government’s proposition that women’s hair excites men, they still had to wear the veil to live safely. Marjane claims, “I think that the reason we were so rebellious was that our generation had known secular schools” (98). Constantly struggling to make the transition to the religious schools was difficult for the children of Iran because they had already be...
According to Doucleff, “‘wearing the hijab eliminates many of the hassles women have to go through — such as dyeing their hair,’ she says. ‘For example, you're getting old, and gray hairs, when you wear the hijab, you might not think about dyeing your hair because nobody sees it anyway.’” By wearing a hijab women do not have to worry about “gray hairs, and can focus on other parts of their lives. Although this seems like a trivial improvement, women in the west spend inestimable amounts of money on beauty products and a surfeit amount of time on their daily regimen. Even though the burqa is therapeutic in helping women with their appearance, it can be physically restricting, “Mariam had never before worn a burqa…The padded headpiece felt tight and heavy on her skull…The loss of peripheral vision was unnerving, and she did not like the suffocating way the pleated cloth kept pressing against her mouth” (72). In this excerpt the burqa is described as “tight”, “heavy”, and “suffocating, making it seem like an unpleasant garment to be ensconced in. The burqa can cause an “unnerving” feeling, which can make daily tasks hard to complete. When interviewing a girl in Afghanistan Daniel Pipes, American historian, writer, and commentator, got her opinion on the burqa, “When I wear a burqa it gives me a really bad feeling. I don't like to wear it…I don't like it, it upsets me, I can't breathe properly.” The discomfort the girl feels in the burqa “upsets” her, linking her physical distress to emotional distress. The girl gets “a really bad feeling” when she wears a burqa, showing that the physical effects of the burqa can be negative. Besides the physical hardships Muslim dress may cause, it can also cover up physical abuse, “A Muslim teenage girl
A debated matter in contemporary society, which has evolved overtime, is the mounting question of liberty and freedom of women in Islam, with specific reference to the veil. In saying that, the controversial issue of the covering of the head will be discussed with close reference to the Quran, Authentic hadith, scholarly consensus (ijma^) and scholarly articles, particularly talking about the evolution of the matter as well as political, cultural, social and religious perceptions that associate with the Islamic veil.
Hijab is a choice that some women or girls make for their own security, for more privacy, or because it makes them feel comfortable and confident about themselves. It should be a choice though, and as it is not proven to us that it is obligatory, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan should remove their laws that insist every girl puts the veil on. Freedom of choice should be given in these countries. It is not required in Islam so it shouldn’t be forced on anyone anywhere. In addition to this, Islam’s beauty is it’s freedom, the choice it provides you with, let it not be ruined.
Often women in these countries are forced to wear a burqa or hijab. These traditional coverings are supposed to keep these women safe. Just like the lady of Shalott’s tower kept the lady safe yet secluded; so secluded that no one “hath seen her wave her hand [,] or at the casement see her stand” (Tennyson, 23-25). In A Thousand Splendid Suns, Rasheed often told both his wives to always keep themselves covered in burqas because he did not want other men to leer at what was his property. In that society, women are told to cover themselves from head to toe. This is due to the fact that their beauty is a distraction to men and might make them take the wrong “action.” This is not right, society should not make women think that they are a distraction or force them to wear something they do not want to wear. Society should consider if these women dress respectively then that should be
In the essay “Fable”, Charles Yu argues about understanding a view of identity that proposes that people can, to a certain extent, change the perception of themselves and their circumstances by how they tell the story of their life. Through the structure of the fable Yu, it portrays a man reluctant to share his story, so you slowly realize why the man is worried, but fantasy and playful characters hide metaphors. But as the tale is entirely clear in detail it allows us to focus on the most important point that he is a man dealing with a lot of pain. At first the man appears to be constrained by gender conventions, the limits of what his story should or could be.
To begin with, the hijab is uncomfortable and impractical in today's modern society. The hijab causes more problems than it solves. Many people either are scared of someone wearing it or they hate the person wearing it. It is very difficult to