By: Kabiawu Waseelah, Lagos

Walking in Ago-Iwoye Market, I took a pause and moved to a side of the road in order to make a phone call. As I waited for my friend to pick up calls put across to her telephone, I felt the urge to turn; I just felt I really needed to and I did. Alas! My eyes made a contact with those of a market woman, who was disgustingly staring at me from head to toe. Immediately she noticed I was looking at her she shifted her gaze elsewhere. I could guess what was running through her mind: “what’s she wearing? Isn’t she feeling the heat? Masquerade, Boko Haram…” whatever it was, I honestly didn’t feel hurt nor embarrassed by her facial expressions, I just smiled and elegantly left the spot, I walked with pride and joy, of course in my regalia; my olive green colored free flowing jilbab.

As I moved on I kept on smiling and wondered why she was using painkillers for a headache I wasn’t even having in the first place. You needed to have seen the expression on her face; I pitied her because she gave herself unnecessary headache.

In the first place, why would anyone be bothered about my dressing? If I look awkward for covering my entire body then you look awkward to me too; for not covering yours.

Look, I’m a Muslim lady and we don’t just do things because we feel like, we neither wear a hair style because Rihanna (a musician) wore it nor do we dress because the west has told us it’s the latest thing. Rather, we do what our Lord has ordered us to do! No one tells a Muslim woman how to dress, we’re far more precious and dignified than that. We cannot just do something because we saw it on the television -like some will do. Nobody dictates to us except our Lord (Allah). Please let this sink in; we cover not because it’s an Arab culture (a lecturer once ignorantly said that in a class), we cover because Allah commanded us in the Quran to do so:
Surah Al-Ahzab, Verse 59:
“O Prophet! say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

Now you see, it ain’t Arab culture bro!, Sis! it’s a commandment every Muslim female should and must abide by.

I’m a Muslim, I’m human just like you. A Christian lady who stayed briefly with myself and a cousin some years back expressed her surprise when she saw our lives were actually ‘normal’. She said she used to believe those who cover were different like they had a different kind of life or something, they don’t play, etc., but living with us, we ate together, laughed together, helped her study for her exams and she was glad she had better results that semester, we lived like ‘normal humans’ (not different creatures like she thought), in fact we never fought throughout!

My point is, stop looking at us like we are aliens, come on! The hijab is made from the same materials your clothes are made from. So, yes! It’s only a piece of cloth meant to cover our entire adornment.

Come off your drama, don’t ask me if I’m not feeling heat under the hijab (doorh! like you really care). I know you’re trying to mock me but then you’ll be wasting your time and saliva because your mockery wouldn’t go beyond my ears.

Just recently, we had our project defense in school and before that day people kept asking me stupid questions. One said ‘Wasilat, what will you wear for your defense?’
Me: ‘My usual clothes’
She: ‘you deserve to be given a zero, in fact they should give you minus and go and remove the marks somewhere’

As if that wasn’t enough, on that day itself I got comments like ‘are you defending today’
Me: ‘yes’
Them: ‘like this?’
Me: ‘what’s wrong with this?’ (I left and didn’t wait for an answer)

What about the stares and side comments? But then what were they thinking? I’ll take off/reduce my hijab because of a project defense? I already stated that this cloth isn’t just something I wear because someone is wearing it, my Creator told me to and it’s already in me, I love it and I’m glad I was commanded to wear it. My hijab is me; I am my hijab. Stop worrying on my behalf because I’m not even bothered. Worry about the increase in nudity these days.

“Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers.” – Prophet Muhammad.

I rest my fingers!

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