Hijabed like Me: A Non-Muslim Woman Experiments with Hijab

I walked down the street in my long white dress and inch-long, black hair one after-noon, and truck drivers whistled and shouted obscenities at me. I felt defeated. I had just stepped out of a hair salon. I had cut my hair short, telling the hairdresser to trim it as she would a guy's. I sat numbly as my hairdresser skillfully sheared into my shoulder-length hair with her scissors, asking me with every inch she cut off if I was freaking out yet. I wasn't freaking out, but I felt self-mutilated.

I was obliterating my femininity:

It wasn't just another haircut. It meant so much more. I was trying to appear andro-gynous by cutting my hair. I wanted to obliterate my femininity. Yet that did not prevent some men from treating me as a sex object. I was mistaken. It was not my femininity that was problematic, but my sexuality, or rather the sexuality that some men had ascribed to me based on my biological sex. They reacted to me as they saw me and not as I truly am. Why should it even matter how they see me, as long as I know who I am? But it does. I believe that men who see women as only sexual beings often commit violence against them, such as rape and battery. Sexual abuse and assault are not only my fears, but my reality.

I was molested and raped. My experiences with men who violated me have made me angry and frustrated. How do I stop the violence? How do I prevent men from seeing me as an object rather than a female? How do I stop them from equating the two? How do I pro-ceed with life after experiencing what others only dread? The experiences have left me with questions about my identity. Am I just another Chinese-American female? I used to think that I have to arrive at a conclusion about who I am, but now I realize that my identity is constantly evolving.

My experience of being “hijabed”:

One experience that was particularly educational was when I “dressed up” as a Mus-lim woman for a drive along Crenshaw Boulevard with three Muslim men as part of a newsmagazine project. I wore a white, long-sleeved cotton shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and a flowery silk scarf that covered my head, which I borrowed from a Muslim woman. [1] Not only did I look the part, I believed I felt the part. Of course, I wouldn't really know what it feels like to be hijabed. I coined this word for the lack of a better term everyday, because I was not raised with Islamic teachings. However, people perceived me as a Muslim woman and did not treat me as a sexual being by making cruel remarks. I noticed that men's eyes did not glide over my body as has happened when I wasn't hijabed. I was fully clothed, exposing only my face.

Hijaab is not a personal choice

Contrary to whatever you may believe, Hijaab (Islamic covering) is not a free personal choice. As a Muslim woman, you are not free; you are a slave of Allaah The Almighty. What is the relationship between freedom and uncovering parts of your body, adorning yourself, and uncovering your face? Does the belief that 'beauty of the soul is the real beauty' entitle a woman to be indecently dressed?

The enemies of Islam have turned women into a cheap commodity; they despise you; they do not respect your mind, thought or character; they are only concerned about your body. Otherwise, let me know: What is the rationale behind an attractive woman appearing on an advertisement for razors or tires? Does this show respect for a woman’s mind? Or does this point to the fact that the media and marketing industry only think about exploiting her body? Why do they not let women who are covered in Hijaab be shown in their ads?

If you could listen to what your colleagues in the university or work say about you behind your back, you would be horrified. They speak about your looks. They do not care for your intelligence or personality; they are only concerned about your femininity. This is the nature of man, and whoever claims otherwise is either a liar or abnormal. Wearing Hijaab is not a free personal choice, and you are certainly not free to do as you think fit; you are a slave of Allaah The Almighty.

 You have no right to disobey His orders. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And whoever turns away from My remembrance – indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." He will say, "My Lord, why have You raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?" [Allaah] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten." And thus do We recompense he who transgressed and did not believe in the signs of his Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more enduring.} [Quran 20:124-127]

Seven Conditions For Women's Dress in Islam

Syed MA Rahman discusses how a Muslimah meets the requirements of Islamic modesty in dress and sets out their Quranic background.

Hijab is a word that indicates not just the headscarf but clothing in its entirety which meets the following conditions :

1. Clothing must cover the entire body, only the hands and face may remain visible (According to some Fiqh Schools) .

2. The material must not be so thin that one can see through it.

3. The clothing must hang loose so that the shape / form of the body is not apparent.

4. The female clothing must not resemble the man's clothing.

5. The design of the clothing must not resemble the clothing of the non believing women.

6. The design must not consist of bold designs which attract attention.

7. Clothing should not be worn for the sole purpose of gaining reputation or increasing one's status in society.

The reason for this strictness is so that the woman is protected from the lustful gaze of men. She should not attract attention to herself in any way. It is permissible for a man to catch the eye of a woman , however it is haram (unlawful) for a man to look twice as this encourages lustful thoughts.