February 1st was National Hijab day, and the University of Tulsa celebrated in the most beautiful way. There was an open panel for lunch and beforehand they had hijab fittings and a makeup station for women to get ready for the big day.
Although I come from a Christian background, I am loving and understanding of other religions. That's something that I think everyone in America needs right now, to understand others. We need to be able to open ourselves up to that vulnerability every once in a while. I'll be honest, I was scared. But the question I had to ask was, why?
Why was I afraid to wear a head scarf? Why did I feel uncomfortable around white males? And why did I feel like I had to be on guard the entire day? It's because of the stereotype. Until you literally put yourself in someone else's shoes, you don't know what has to go through their mind every time they walk out of the house.
It's because of the news, and women getting hijabs ripped off their heads (which would hurt so bad if you have the pins in). It's the fact that women are not catcalled, but told to go back where they came from (even if they were born in the United States), or yelled at to take that "rag" off their heads. This is unacceptable. Stand up. I wore the hijab to show that I stand with my brothers and sisters of other religions. Because guess what? We are all humans. We all bleed red.
These women who wear the hijab are strong for putting up with the bullying, they are smart, they are kind. These women are not terrorists. Stop putting a label on a religion. Because I'm sure the man that bombed Oklahoma City was probably a "Christian". Some will argue, "He's not a Christian because he killed so many people". Well gosh, I don't think Allah would want people to die either. But there are people who assume their God wants these things. White men can walk into a school and kill children, and we label them as "mentally ill", but when it's not someone that looks just like you, they are labeled as evil and a terrorist.
The fact of the matter is this, 95% of the people that ISIS (which is not a religion) attack are the people in Syria. And we won't protect children who become orphans and watch their parents take their last breath, even though we have such a large "Pro Life" movement. But no, those children don't look like yours and they don't speak like yours. But they are God's children too. Whether that's their God or mine, they have my love.
Because that's what being a Christian is. Love. That's why I wore the hijab. That's why I was proud to cover myself. Because covering is in so many religions. Nuns cover, Muslims cover, Jewish women cover, Hindus cover, and they are all okay. It's to stay modest and to feel comfortable in their own skin. It's for cultural and religious reasons.
Hell, I need to wear one for bad hair days.
