By FARAH NADHIRAH MUHAMMAD KHAIRUN
To most people, the Hijab is synonymous to Muslim women. To Muslims however, the Hijab is a symbol of her faith.
Wearing the Hijab is not as simple as covering your head with a piece of cloth indefinitely, it is more than that. Though compulsory as stated in the Quran, with the modernisation of the world – making that choice of covering up is no longer an easy one.
As forward thinking as the world gets, the mindset people have of women in Hijab, at times still remain negative. The Hijab is not something that is accepted in today’s culture. Living in a diversified culture does not always mean that we accept each cultural norm there is out there.
In certain cases, there are people who have shallow perceptions towards women in Hijab. Some of these shallow viewpoints would be that girls in Hijab are not smart, introverted, not outgoing, poor and even bald. Fitting in becomes harder, especially for Muslim girls who wear the Hijab.
School of Architecture, Building and Design (SABD) student Anis Nabila Amir Hamzah, 21, said, “After a few days in college, I started to realise that certain people have a stigma that we are nowhere close to being smart.”
No woman should be defined through her appearance – Muslim women included. A Muslim woman’s personality, behaviour and attitude does not depend on the scarf that covers her head.
Due to this stigma of donning a Hijab, a lot of Muslim women find it difficult to ever be ready to cover up.
Anis Nabila added, “There were new friends I made in college who treated me differently. Different in the way that they made judgements solely on my physical appearance which did not signify who I was.”
SABD student Benjamin Man, 22, said even though he respects Muslim women just as he respects women of other religions and beliefs, he thinks that the headscarf does alter his perception towards these women.
Man added, “Before I get to know girls with Hijabs better, I would assume that they are closed-minded. If I had the choice, I would avoid letting to know them even though I do know a few ‘Hijabis’ who are cool.”
Contrary to this, there are people out there who take the Hijab as merely another piece of clothing item. Some also believe that women in Hijab are just like any other ordinary human.
Undeniably, women in Hijab carry a form of responsibility in which they need to guard themselves and being more reserved at certain things.
School of Computing and IT student Ahmad Shahid Nassir Rogers, 21, said, “It might indicate that the person could be more reserved at certain things – respectfully and understandably, but it’s the same case with people who wear religious clothing. It’s nothing out of the norm.”
Even when there are pools of thoughts out there who do not wish to befriend Muslim women with Hijab, there are some who are not affected by it.
Ahmad Shahid added, “I would totally befriend a girl wearing the Hijab.”
School of Communication student Aisyah Mustapha Kamil, 21, said, “Most people respected my decision and some people say I looked better without it.”
Aisyah Mustapha also mentioned about how her life has changed after she started covering up. She inspired many girls on social media which made her realise that she made the right choice.
The Hijab is merely another piece of clothing on a woman’s body – it does not signify who and how she is as a person. We should never forget that a ‘Hijabi’ is still a person, like everyone else.
Wearing the Hijab is not as simple as covering your head with a piece of cloth indefinitely, it is more than that. Though compulsory as stated in the Quran, with the modernisation of the world – making that choice of covering up is no longer an easy one.
As forward thinking as the world gets, the mindset people have of women in Hijab, at times still remain negative. The Hijab is not something that is accepted in today’s culture. Living in a diversified culture does not always mean that we accept each cultural norm there is out there.
In certain cases, there are people who have shallow perceptions towards women in Hijab. Some of these shallow viewpoints would be that girls in Hijab are not smart, introverted, not outgoing, poor and even bald. Fitting in becomes harder, especially for Muslim girls who wear the Hijab.
School of Architecture, Building and Design (SABD) student Anis Nabila Amir Hamzah, 21, said, “After a few days in college, I started to realise that certain people have a stigma that we are nowhere close to being smart.”
No woman should be defined through her appearance – Muslim women included. A Muslim woman’s personality, behaviour and attitude does not depend on the scarf that covers her head.
Due to this stigma of donning a Hijab, a lot of Muslim women find it difficult to ever be ready to cover up.
Anis Nabila added, “There were new friends I made in college who treated me differently. Different in the way that they made judgements solely on my physical appearance which did not signify who I was.”
SABD student Benjamin Man, 22, said even though he respects Muslim women just as he respects women of other religions and beliefs, he thinks that the headscarf does alter his perception towards these women.
Man added, “Before I get to know girls with Hijabs better, I would assume that they are closed-minded. If I had the choice, I would avoid letting to know them even though I do know a few ‘Hijabis’ who are cool.”
Contrary to this, there are people out there who take the Hijab as merely another piece of clothing item. Some also believe that women in Hijab are just like any other ordinary human.
Undeniably, women in Hijab carry a form of responsibility in which they need to guard themselves and being more reserved at certain things.
School of Computing and IT student Ahmad Shahid Nassir Rogers, 21, said, “It might indicate that the person could be more reserved at certain things – respectfully and understandably, but it’s the same case with people who wear religious clothing. It’s nothing out of the norm.”
Even when there are pools of thoughts out there who do not wish to befriend Muslim women with Hijab, there are some who are not affected by it.
Ahmad Shahid added, “I would totally befriend a girl wearing the Hijab.”
School of Communication student Aisyah Mustapha Kamil, 21, said, “Most people respected my decision and some people say I looked better without it.”
Aisyah Mustapha also mentioned about how her life has changed after she started covering up. She inspired many girls on social media which made her realise that she made the right choice.
The Hijab is merely another piece of clothing on a woman’s body – it does not signify who and how she is as a person. We should never forget that a ‘Hijabi’ is still a person, like everyone else.