Adeel Malik
Muslim women wearing Hijab are often claimed to be oppressed, suppressed or having no choice of their own. My Hijab My Choice hopes to clear this misconception with real life stories from Muslim women connected to Hong Kong.
A thought-provoking story of a Muslimah who grew up in Saudi and then had to move to Hong Kong, where she faced a number of challenges – including the wearing of the hijab.
What is hijab? Is it just a head scarf, covering your head and the rest of the body remains seen? Tight clothing? No, hijab is the full clothing that covers the entire body without revealing the shape of the body. It has to be a loose garment that does not reveal a woman’s body.
My hijab, my choice – this line in itself says it all! Yes, I am a hijabi and I am proud to be one alhumdulilah.
It all started in Saudi Arabia. I grew up there and it was a lot easier to wear hijab there, as it was part of the culture there. So it naturally, slowly became a habit. My hijab was with me until I came here (Hong Kong) after wedding.
I had a culture shock. I had not seen women this exposed anywhere before and for me to don the hijab in a place like this was a big challenge.
People would stare at me and pass comments or they would just laugh. Sometimes people even got scared looking at my niqab.
Eventually, I started wearing just the head scarf and not the complete hijab. Trust me, I felt incomplete and exposed. But I carried on to move about this way.
Until, I met a lady, a complete hijabi with niqab, subhanallah, and now she’s my best friend alhamdulillah. May Allāh Azzawajal reward her immensely for inspiring me to don my hijab once again.
Read also: My Hijab My Choice: YouTube and WhatsApp inspires a Muslim teenager to wear Hijab
Surely, Allāh Azzawajal had sent her to increase my imaan. I saw her how she did not care about the people around her and carried on with her hijab just for the sake of Allāh.
Yes, it was then that I decided, come what may, I would never abandon my hijab again and alhamdulillah no looking back since then.
Believe me sisters, I feel so complete and secure within myself that I am wearing the thing which Allāh Azzawajal has commanded me to, subhanallah.
Whenever I see a woman with attractive attire, I say to myself,
“This dunya is a paradise to disbelievers and a jail to the believers. Jannah is waiting for me in sha Allah.”
Trust me, this makes me feel so much better and satisfied.
Here in Hong Kong, it’s very easy to express yourselves. There is so much freedom here to do what you please.
My dear sisters, it’s high time we cover ourselves up in front of non-mahrams, because, even Allāh Himself wants us to be covered when we return to Him that is when we die, we are wrapped in five pieces of clothes whereas for men it’s just three.
So sisters, it’s my humble request to you all, please do not make the day you die, your first day of hijab :'(
Now, to all those who think that Muslim women are oppressed and forced to wear hijab, kindly note that my hijab is my choice, what I wear is thoroughly my decision and I choose to be protected in my shell (my hijab).
May Allāh Azzawajal grant us all the correct understanding of the term ‘hijab’ and guide us to embrace it till our last breath. Aameen!
