15 September 2014

reclaiming the hijab and femininity

"my femininity is not for public consumption"
this is such a gorgeous line, from this article on women reclaiming the hijab to counter patriarchy and fundamentalism.

if i had been so articulate at 18, this is what i would have said to all those who questioned whywhywhy. it is so so liberating to not be seen by what you wear, your figure, your hairstyle. yes, at first, i felt like i was suddenly this asexual being, and many many guys (and girls) would simply shy away from me, or would treat me as they would an older, married lady. this was okay though, as i got my bearing as a freshman in university, in a different country, a different planet perhaps. 

being 'me' suddenly had so many more facets, such as what i studied, where in cairo i lived, who my room/flat mates were, what i read, which city i had come from. i am not saying that these facets are not there to people who are not veiled. i just felt that they came much easier now that my femininity was out of the equation.

today, some 20 years later, i am totally 'me', and my femininity is definitely not for public consumption :)

#microblog mondays

5 comments:

Aditi said...

Loved the quote and the way you broke the barriers to discover yourself! Stay 'you', stay blessed!

Corinne Rodrigues said...

I understand your sentiments - again it's up to each person and their beliefs, no? And we've got to respect a woman's right to choose.

Lollipop Goldstein said...

I love reading this perspective -- from someone on the inside of the experience vs. the outside.

JustHeather said...

What Mel said! I've been thinking on what to comment all day and she has nailed it. It's what makes reading blogs so interesting, because you get to see so much more from the inside and someone else's perspective that you would in your own daily life.

md said...

thank you all for your comments :)