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New York City has officially given off on Eid for their public school students and staff since2015, and afterward, other surrounding towns like Teaneck, Paterson, Newark, Clifton and many others followed suit. I like to think that Saddle Brook has not only some of the most diverse schools, but some of the most accepting. I never feel out of place for wearing hijab to class, and I am comfortable in being myself without judgment. However, when my other peers and I have to miss a day of school and catch up on the work we miss for tough classes, but then freely take off for every other religious holiday our student body celebrates, it is reminded that there are still some things that we simply do not have…yet.
I have always been told that if you want something, you have to fight to make it right, so this goal is not any different. I want to be able to be that girl who not only fasts for thirty days, but then can enjoy a day off given by her school district, so that she may celebrate Eid in peace. I was always afraid of fighting, but now I have a voice. If something as simple as fighting to get a simple day off from school for a religious holiday can’t be done by that voice, then in my opinion, there is no point in having a voice at all.
In 2019 alone, thousands
came for the special Eid prayer at the Met life Stadium in East Rutherford. There were so many to accomodate, they had to have two sepereate timings to come in!