Hijab and the work la e

What is the ro lem ith earing hi a in the or lace s it the fear of judgement, of being sneered at r is it the fear of ecoming the un no a le other that there is nothing in common and ne er ill e These ertinent uestions lie at the heart of the hi a earing narrati e. a ing orn the hi a for o er years, it is as much a part of me as my skin is, and I am conscious that I am udged on oth. e li e in a society that is continuously stimulated, educated and influenced to focus on the visual outer appearance, leading to an ignorance that breeds fear of the other - anyone that loo s or acts different.

started or ing at a time hen ords like terrorism and Islam had become synonymous hen eo le ere too olite to use ords to articulate their feelings ut their eyes s o e olumes. I forged ahead and stubbornly built my resilience to ro e naysayers rong. as committed to my or tal ed to my colleagues ith an o en mind and engaged in heartfelt con ersations e realised e ere not so different after all. nce gained experience in my field, I stopped orrying a out loo ing different ecause no my confidence did the tal ing. Today, I don’t fret about fitting in or im ressing anyone ut myself. am not com eting ith others ut trying to e my est self. o e er acutely understand ho scary it is to enter the or lace as a minority and to try and fit in. hen first put on the hijab, I had no idea about its significance it as ust a art of my school uniform. s a teenager it made oys a oid me or call me names. s a young oman it ecame a source of both consternation and solace especially hen slam s ung into mainstream scrutiny. ne eo le ere loo ing ut also ne my fello uslims ere smiling at me. understand ho tem oral life is and aim to ecome closer to od. To attain that goal ear this shield it reminds me of ho am hat re resent and ho can and should eha e. ear a hi a ecause it im ues me ith indness em athy and intelligence.

The hi a doesn t decrease our . se your acumen to sho colleagues ho intelligent and a le you are. There ill al ays e ell meaning career counsellors ad ising us against utting a in ed n hoto ith our hi a s on as it might hinder our career rogression. Those ieces of ad ice don t matter if you no your self orth. edia feeds eo le ith a negati e ortrayal of uslims. ou can change that erce tion y sho ing them your intelligence, humour, culture, kindness, confidence and e en fashion sense. f you can sho them that their eha iour reluctance to engage, avoidance of you is unnecessary they ill surely change the ay they conduct themsel es. ut if you confront and attack their attitude, they ill hold on to their igoted ie s rigidly. ou can ma e a difference y modelling a eha iour you ant others to emulate. o hat is the ro lem ith earing hi a in the or lace t s eo le s attitudes and behaviours stemming from a misunderstood fear, and that’s the easiest one to address. uch of ho e are ercei ed in the or lace de ends on ho e see oursel es. see myself as a uslim a oman a rofessional and a passionate individual eager to learn and contri ute. f you ant to ear the hijab full time or part-time, cover yourself fully or artially it is your choice on t orry a out hat others ill thin or hat your em loyer ill say. t can e hard ut you are not alone. ou ill e al ing a ath chosen y many efore you and you ill light the ay for those that follo . se that no ledge as your secret ea on and it ill get you through anything.

More importantly, I stopped thinking, hat ill eo le say ome loo at the hijab and assume you are extremely religious, others might think you are o ressed. Then some ould thin you re resent all uslims. t does not matter hat eo le thin say or do. hat matters is your connection ith od as represented by the hijab; a sacred bond et een you and your creator one that you carry e ery here.