VEILED: PERSPECTIVES
Mouri’s decision to start covering officially begun 2 years ago at the age of 18. She
had always thought about veiling but her decision appeared to finalize itself when her
automatic reaction while getting ready one morning was to throw a scarf around her
head. That marked the moment she considered it as a possible permanent practise in
her life. Following that day, she engaged in conversations with others regarding why
they cover. Her mind seemed to have been made about how she would start dressing
from then on.
Her choice came about on a whim and she didn’t allow room for that doubtful chapter
to settle in. Since she had been thinking about this for several years and always knew
she eventually wanted to wear hijab, she avoided overthinking it and postponing the
decision any further. If that uncertainty settled in, she may not be covering today.
When you first start covering, the initial most significant feeling comes from within
when you get nervous and feel like the whole world is staring at you and knows it is the
first day you begun to cover full-time. A big portion of Islam was a big question mark.
Through veiling, she began to understand it more and what it means to be Muslim.
At first, she didn’t think she looked good in the hijab. A big battle for her was physically covering her hair. She was the girl who always did something with her hair, and
to cover that part of herself full-time in public now was a big change. There’s an art
of putting hijab on, and in the end, the meaning and fulfillment behind the practise
overweights any of the downsides.
Women who wear more traditional forms of coverings, such as all black and long
loose skirts known as the abaya, will receive different looks and impressions from
others as compared to women who dress in more westernized clothing (i.e. colours
and designs) when covering.
33