VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
Saima had been considering veiling as a form of identity building for
herself through her understanding of her religion for 2 years prior to
committing to the hijab at age 14. For 12 years and counting, she has
always worn the hijab in public. At first, her family was opposed to
the idea.
Saima spent a lot of her life in Pakistan. A popular assumption there
was that women who veil are either pious or pretending to be pious.
Saima’s mother is very religious but does not practise covering; she
only began wearing hijab recently in her 60s as a way of supporting
her daughters. The veil embodies so much more than modesty,
person to person its meanings vary.
Initially the hijab was not a mere act of religious belief. Following her
final decision to start covering, a lot of her friends had deserted her
because they thought she was pretending to be pious. As a debater
during her school career, she had been considered the strong outspoken girl. Therefore, her exploration of the hijab, which is something a
lot of people considered oppressive, stirred conversation and surprise
amongst her peers. She had several comments directed towards her
regarding the scarf and her piety during the age of 14, which for such
a young girl was extremely overwhelming.
“People expected so much from me at that
point, I was just a kid.”
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