In a world full of racism and ignorance it is quite difficult to be “different” and live in the United States lately without facing some sort of discrimination or hate. After the tragedy of 9/11 by Al-Qaeda extremists, it became tough to be Muslim, have “brown” skin color or wear a head covering while living in America. You were assumed to be a “terrorist” or associated with Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. This would increase the number of hate crimes in the country, as well as the ignorance and misconceptions that seep among us.

As a Muslim living in America, I personally have not been excluded from facing discrimination for my beliefs. Being a “hijabi” (a woman who wears the Muslim headscarf) makes me a greater target for hate. Wearing the hijab, I am easily making myself identifiable as a Muslim woman. By doing so, I am allowing myself to be easily distinguished as an “outsider” within this society. Hijab in America is negatively viewed as “oppression” since a Muslim woman is covering her body from men so that only her husband and close family are able to see her, and no one else can. This may seem as a misogynistic and “forced” way of controlling Muslim women from being able to dress and act the way they want to, leading to the misconception that Islam is a misogynistic religion that oppresses and controls its women.

Numerous times I get asked, “how long do you have to wear that thing on your head?” People are shocked to find out that there is no “time period” for hijab. They are also surprised to find out that I was not forced to wear hijab by my parents. True, there are some who are forced to wear it but that is not the case for all of us hijabis. It is a personal choice we make to fulfill a religious obligation. To some I may seem oppressed for living in America, the land of the free, and keeping ties to my religion and culture. To others, wearing the hijab is a religious obligation that is written in the Qur’an (Islamic holy book) has been practiced for many years. To another group, wearing hijab is a traditional value that is imitated from mothers, sisters, aunts, and other relatives in the community.

Yet, another group sees wearing hijab as a conscious means of empowerment and rejection against Western ideas and colonialism. I know that when someone looks at me wearing the hijab in public, anyone of these ideas can be formulated in their mind. The question here is how do I view wearing the hijab in my life?

In a foreign country where Islam is not the dominant religion and is unfamiliar, Muslim hijabi women may feel “inferiority” and decide to take off the hijab. For those who remain wearing the hijab, it is an act that symbolizes our want to represent a religious and cultural value that is a part of our identity while also ignoring any ill-conceived Western notions against hijab. Hijab, where it is seen as “oppression” in Western view, is actually being used to the contrary: empowerment.

I wear the hijab not only as an immediate indicator of my religious affiliation to Islam, but as a representation of my modesty and choice to cover myself and let my mind and actions speak for me, rather than have the way I look, be an immediate indicator of the type of person I am. I choose to let my thoughts and intellect represent the beauty I possess. I am not saying that a woman who does not cover herself is immodest or not beautiful, not at all; my ideology is what I prefer for myself only and no one else. But through my hijab, I have also given the act of wearing the hijab and modest dress to signify not only being a symbol of religion but to go further in representing my empowerment as a Muslim woman living in a Western country.

So next time someone wants to assume and attack a hijabi, perhaps one should stop and admire the bravery and courage she has to be able to stand up for what she believes in when everyone around wants to tear her down in assimilation.