Unveiling the Veil: Hijab Fact and Fiction

I'm excited to announce an awesome guest this morning here on Culture Connoisseur. She's the beautiful blogger behind Miss Anthropist's Kitchen and she knows how to bake up some tasty treats. But that's not the only thing she knows about...today she is here to tell us everything she knows about the hijab! Take it away, girlie!

Hi there! My name is Nourhan (it's a Turkish name, but I'm Egyptian). I'm a 19-year-old food blogger and...I'm also a Muslim. Before you call the police, you won't believe this: I'm a Muslim...and I don't want to blow anyone up! I want to educate you about the hijab :)

The wonderful Hannah asked me if I would like to guest post here about the hijab. I'll tell you why I wear it, and some other facts you may not know about the hijab (Islamic headscarf) and Islam. 

The hijab (or headscarf) is something that women (girls who have passed puberty) should wear as Muslims (and actually it's not only for Muslims--I know that in other religions women are meant to wear it as well (Judaism, Christianity...but that's another story for another day). Many people seem to be under a lot of misconceptions…that we Muslim girls are forced to wear it, or that we have to wear it everywhere (shower included). This is totally not the case.

I've been wearing the hijab for about 7 years, since I was 12 years old. I know that sounds really young, but for me, it was at a perfect time. Since I skipped two grades in school, I was actually 12 when I went to the 9th grade (first year of high school), so I actually felt older than I really was. Nobody forced me to wear the hijab. Not my parents (they advised me of course, but never forced me), not anyone. It was my decision 100%.

 (Virgin Mary, Mother Teresa, Amish women, Orthodox Jews, nuns, all wear the hijab as well.)

I wear the hijab because, like praying 5 times a day and giving charity every year, fasting during the month of Ramadan from dawn until sunset (it is actually Ramadan this month! You should read into it, it's very interesting), wearing the hijab is required of me as a Muslim. Yes, there are days when I want to look pretty outside and wear whatever I want...but then I think, "wait a second, why do I need the attention of strangers?" 

The hijab doesn't want Muslim women to look bad--on the contrary, it is required for a Muslim to look clean, decent, and nice. The hijab is a form of modesty. Girls should be modest...and once upon a time, the majority of the girls were modest. Times have clearly changed, but that doesn't mean everyone should conform blindly. Modesty is something that should be the standard all the time, no matter where you live--it is a beautiful and pure thing.

Here are some common questions you might be wondering:

1. What is the difference between the hijab, niqab, burqa...?
They are all a means to cover one's body, but in different ways. The physical differences are this:

·         The hijab: Supposed to cover the entire body excluding the hands and face. (It's also how Virgin Mary wore the scarf). The majority of Muslim women who are covered wear the hijab.

·         The niqab: Covers everything except for a slit revealing the eyes, and it's usually black though sometimes found in different colors.

·         The burqa covers EVERYTHING from head to toe. There is a screen-like thing over the eyes, but the eyes aren't revealed.

The majority of Muslim women wear the hijab, though in some countries like Saudi Arabia, the niqab is more prevalent. Muslim women differ in covers depending on their situation and how much they believe a girl should cover up. 

 

2. Why do you wear the hijab in America when you don't have to?
Another common misconception is that all Arab countries "force" women to wear the hijab. This is completely untrue. Walk around the streets of countries like Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Dubai, Turkey, and you will find that there are many women who are not veiled (some of them quite the opposite, ahem). So in Egypt, like America, I have the option not to wear it...

Of course, there is a sharp difference between not wearing it in Egypt and not wearing it in America. In America, there is always the feeling of "belonging" I would probably get if I didn't wear the hijab. It's weird how a single article of clothing can make you stick out like a sore thumb. I mean, I probably wouldn't get lingering glances from people while I'm shopping for groceries, or have an employee treat me rudely when he was just fine talking to the other customer before me.

I'm not saying that I'm suffering by wearing the hijab in America--some people are extremely kind, and many times people have told me how much they respect me for wearing the clothes I wear (it always makes my day!).

Like all human beings, Muslim girls who wear the hijab enjoy it when people smile at us, crack jokes, or treat us like we don't have a second head. :)

But no matter where I live, I choose to wear the hijab regardless. Simply because I'm not doing it for people, I'm doing it for God. 

 

3. Do you have to wear the hijab at home?
No is the general answer...but it also depends. Allow me to explain. If a normal day at home is spent with only family (that is, your mother, sister, husband, son, brother, or father), you never have to wear the hijab at home. Muslim women are only required to be veiled in front of men who are not their mahram. They do not have to wear it in front of their mahram. A mahram is someone who is considered close family and unmarryable (excluding your husband, of course). 

People who are considered mahram to a woman: Father, grandfather, brother, half-brother, husband, son, a boy who hasn't passed puberty yet (a male child), a male who has been breast-fed by her mother (but not necessarily blood-related), mother's brother, father's brother (Note: I did not say "uncle" because a mother's sister's husband is considered an uncle in the English language, but he is not considered a mehram since he is not related by blood), and daughter's husband.

All of these people can see a woman without her scarf since they are considered close family.

In Islam, a non-mahram would be any other male, so you would have to wear the scarf when seeing them. This category consists of basically every other male on the planet who wasn't mentioned in the previous list. It includes male cousins (yes, it's permitted for cousins to marry, but it's not very common), stepbrothers, adopted brothers, brother-in-laws, and "uncles" (who are not your parents' siblings, but your parents' sister's husband). 

Are you scratching your heads yet? I made a little table to make things easier for you :)

So in a sense, girls don't wear the scarf according to location...but rather, the people present at the location.

Put simply, if you're at home and the pizza delivery guy, neighbor next door, brother's best buds, or husband's brother decides to stop by your house, you would be required to wear the scarf. On the other hand, if you were at the pool outside in your backyard with all your girl friends and no neighbors can see you, you wouldn't have to wear it.

But to make things less complicated, we say that we don't wear the hijab at home (since the majority of the time we don't).

 

4. Do you like wearing the hijab?

Yes! I really really do.

I would just like to quote someone for a second here...she is an actress, (Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, anyone?), Emma Watson:

"I find the whole concept of being ‘sexy’ embarrassing and confusing. If I do an interview with photographs people desperately want to change me - dye my hair blonder, pluck my eyebrows, give me a fringe. Then there’s the choice of clothes. I know everyone wants a picture of me in a mini-skirt. But that’s not me. I feel uncomfortable. I’d never go out in a mini-skirt. It’s nothing to do with protecting the Hermione image. I wouldn’t do that. Personally, I don’t actually think it’s even that sexy. What’s sexy about saying, ‘I’m here with my boobs out and a short skirt, have a look at everything I’ve got?’ My idea of sexy is that less is more. The less you reveal the more people can wonder."  

A non-Muslim girl with a lot of Islamic sense. So much respect for her, because this is exactly why I'm so proud to be wearing the scarf! You go, girl!

 

5. Do you ever get to look pretty and dress up? Obviously you're not going to wear party dresses at home.
Yes, yes I do! My Muslim friends ALWAYS throw girl parties, whether it's for a special occasion like a wedding or baby shower, or just for fun. You would be absolutely stunned to see how glamorous girls look once they take their scarves off. (Hannah's previous post on the Iranian baby shower showed this beautifully!).

There's always that "wow" factor that comes along with looking great after being covered, kind of like how in chick flicks the girl next door reveals herself at the end of the movie to be a babe (yes...I watch a lot of movies).

Even without dressing up, though...I remember the first time I went to a girl friend's house and took off my hijab for the first time in front of her. My friend stared at me for about 10 minutes straight. I'm not even exaggerating. I wasn't wearing a fancy dress, or put on extra makeup...I simply took my scarf off.

Personally, I can't wait to share that experience on my wedding day with whoever is my future husband. :)

6. What do you look like?
Like this, on a really good day:

 I hope this post was informative and that it cleared up some common misconceptions about the hijab.

And fun fact: The media makes it seem like all Muslims are Middle Eastern, yet out of 1.2+ billion Muslims, fewer than 15% of Muslims are actually Arab/Middle Eastern! The majority of Muslims are actually in Asia, in countries like Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Bangladesh, etc. (Yes...there is a whole world out there!)

Thanks for letting me guest post here, Hannah! :)

Still have questions or comments? 

Don't be shy...ask them here and I'm sure Nourhan will be willing to share!