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Vaughan women help lift the veil on wearing the hijab
Ahmadiyya Muslim women invite you to try it on Saturday

YorkRegion.com
Jan. 13, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

It’s just a piece of fabric - in this case, a smooth, shimmery swath of olive-green.

But in today’s world, it has come to mean so much more.

And so when Hira Muneeb wraps a hijab over my head, around my neck and across my chest, the simple rectangle transforms itself - and seems to transform me, too.

In the mirror and to strangers, suddenly, who I am and what I stand for totally changes.

Not really, of course.

I still am who I am, but to the outside world, the hijab-wearing me is either an oppressed and brainwashed female or an independent and spiritual woman.

It is a sign of our troubled times that a religious practice as innocuous as the donning of a headscarf has become a flashpoint for censure, confusion and outright hostility.

It is why Canadian Muslim women have embarked on a campaign to lift the veil on the veil, so to speak, to shine light on the hijab and those who wear it.

And it is why I - a Caucasian, non-Muslim - am venturing out of my comfort zone to experience a bit of life while wearing a hijab.

This Saturday, as part of the #JeSuisHijabi national campaign, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community invites women to the Maple Community Centre to learn about what it means to be a Muslim female - and try on the hijab.

It can be a disconcerting experience, as Muneeb herself will attest. The Vaughan resident decided to begin wearing a hijab as a 21-year-old University of Toronto student.

Like other Muslim women, she says it was a free choice, made after much introspection and research of religions.

Now, as a gregarious mother of a newborn baby, she laughs about that first time she saw herself in the mirror wearing the scarf. Even though she was raised a Muslim and dressed modestly as part of her faith and culture (she was born in Pakistan), it was the first time she had covered her head in the traditional way.

“It was really strange. My image changed, there’s no doubt about it. I couldn’t relate to what I saw. It was very alien. But inside, I was the same person. I didn’t change.”

The olive-green scarf has much the same effect on me.

At the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at national headquarters in Vaughan, Muneeb demonstrates the various ways the hijab can be worn. Some prefer to have no hair showing or cover the lower face, others, like Muneeb, wear it more loosely.

It’s less about covering the hair, she says, and more about covering the chest.

“A woman’s beauty is more about her figure, so it’s more about hiding that, to reduce temptation...In the holy Koran it says ‘cover your bosoms and draw it over your head’. The way you do it is your choice.”

My first thought when I look in the mirror? I should have put some eye makeup on this morning. My face is poking through the fabric like a potato, all jowly and wrinkly. I look decidedly unattractive. But then I check myself. Isn’t that the point?

The hijab, Muneeb says, is intended to cover the most attractive part of women to prevent temptation.

“Islamic teachings are that the two sexes should not intermingle freely unless they are part of family or your husband...It’s basically to preserve family structure.”

The teaching of modesty is not just aimed at women, she adds.

“A lot of people don’t realize that there are injunctions in the holy Koran regarding segregation and it talks about men before it talks about women. They’re asked to lower their gaze and not stare at women.”

It’s the stares - from men and women - I worry about most when I leave the mosque on Jane Street and venture out wearing my hijab. Will people treat me differently?

Driving is a challenge. I haven’t figured out how to wear the covering to retain peripheral vision, but beyond that, my hijab really hasn’t changed anything as I stop at Hillcrest Mall in Richmond Hill and my favourite local cafe, one of many women in headscarves on a blustery day.

I have a similar experience in northern York Region where the population is less diverse. I spend 45 minutes with a staff person trying to fix my laptop in a bustling Apple store in Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket. I don’t see anyone else wearing a hijab, but no one is staring.

I confess my masquerade to the man helping me.

“Doesn’t make any difference to me,” he says, shrugging. “I treat everyone the same.”

I keep my hijab on that evening when we entertain guests in Aurora. It generates great conversation about our own prejudices and reactions. By the end of the night, other women are eager to try it on, too.

Why, we wonder, do we view a person in a hijab differently from someone who is bundled up in a hooded parka? Why do we want to be attractive to others outside our family? Why, when other religions wear head covering too, is this scarf synonymous with Islam?

Multicultural York Region may be more accepting than other North American communities, but still, these are difficult times times to be Muslim, Muneeb says. There is a constant need to prove to others that you are not what they think you are.

“You can read people and the way they look at you. You’re always defensive. You hear people talk about ISIS and say we do certain things, but it’s not who Muslims are,” she says.

“They should not judge a book by its cover. They should come to know us before they make assumptions.”

When she started wearing a hijab, she says she felt people were judging her, “but once they started speaking with me, it was a different story. I was initially hurt by this behaviour when I saw this happening to me, but I gave them room. I thought maybe this was a natural human reaction. Maybe if I was in their shoes I would do the same. Maybe they just don’t know me. I can’t take it personally.”

That’s what this campaign is all about, says Hena Malik, spokesperson for the JeSuisHijabi campaign.

The project, including workshops across Canada, was launched in December in response to the Paris attacks and backlash against Muslims, in hope it would generate awareness and dialogue, Malik says.

“We’ve had a phenomenal response. We Canadians are really accepting of different faiths and cultures. This response reflects those values.”

The hijab campaign, offered in Toronto, Ottawa and other cities, emphasizes that hijabis represent freedom and an opportunity for women’s image to be focused less on looks and more on personality.

“Muslims are not forced to wear hijabs. It’s a matter of choice after careful contemplation of our faith and done for spiritual reasons,” Malik says. “It’s not connected to doing what our fathers or husbands tell us. It’s a signal to others that a woman wants to interact in a way that is respectful and not based on appearance.”

Even in a diverse region like the GTA, she says, it’s important to keep educating others because “people may be too shy to ask questions. They’re not sure what’s appropriate and don’t want to offend.”

Muneeb has purchased new scarves for the Maple event and has bracelets for those who attend.

“This campaign to me speaks about relating to others, developing respect and understanding.”

“We can’t agree on everything but we can respect each other. There will be differences in opinion, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

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