The hijab at work…

I recently got an invitation to a lecture on the hijab by email interestingly. I thought to myself oh here we go … again! I have heard, read and talked about the hijab yesterdays and many more past. But seeing that it was on a weekend, out of my never ending desire to learn and the discipline to listen, off I went.

The first shoe dropped when the lecture was not in defense of the hijab. There was nothing to be defended about it. It was for believing women. Those who disagreed had the lines clearly drawn; they belong to the other side of the coin. [ النور، ٣١ ]  وَقُل للمُؤمِناتِ 

"And say (O Muhammad (SAAW) to the believing women" (Qur'an 24: 31)

The second shoe dropped moments later when the direction of the lecture took on the acceptance or the lack of it, at the work place. Make no mistake; the aggrieved were those who were not ones to wear it at any one time, it simply hurt their eyes, person and generally class to see their hijab adorned colleagues. Here, I got a little jolt in my heart to write home about bits of the lecture I thought I could share with you.

That it’s old fashioned and drab is not one issue I would like to discuss. Fashion and glamour are personal choices. Besides it will be shallow of me to dignify such arguments with a reply. What am interested in is the hypocrisy of the employers who pick on our brilliance and efficiency at the work place (they are blind about the hijab at this point) but find it out of place during the coffee breaks or in the meetings. What you should look at is my work not how I dress.

I will briefly refer to the Qur’an (of course) on the hijab… wear the hijab so you will be known… يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ 

[ الأحزاب، ٥٩ ]  يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ

"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) over their bodies (when outdoors). That is most convenient that they should be known and not molested."(9) (Qur'an 33:59)

I invite ye to appreciate why the hijab adorned woman will be known (or should be known) effortlessly

· For brains- wearing the hijab automatically disqualifies the use of her curves as a tool to get or keep her job. For her, it’s about results. The long yards of cloth will force you to listen.

· For decency – need I say more on this?

· For her unquestioning belief – surely I don’t need to labor you with how those who chose to dress this way are, believing women?

· For her patience- do you know how much patience it takes to wait for someone to stop looking you over before they listen to you?

· For her optimism – the hope is that they will be rewarded in heaven despite them not knowing how heaven looks like or when they will enter its gates. How optimistic can one get?

· For will and character – you must be a person of good character to chose humility over vanity

· For confidence – believe me, it’s at this point that you can tell who is confident of themselves as a whole. Wearing skimpily may translate into a desperate or unconscious attempt at pulling attraction towards you. This may mean you are not confident of what you have to present or that you cannot hold the fort without some borrowed confidence.

· For empathy- it’s believed that men find it hard to control their sexual thoughts on sight of particular bits of the female anatomy. Imagine the hours spent while day dreaming of what you can do if only you got the chance to feel those breasts… those in hijab have empathy for you and your job.

· For discipline – most of you will do something because the over head authority will reprimand you immediately. Has anyone ever seen God? He is the one who told us to dress this way. Following his command without him chasing after us is of utmost discipline.

Before you squeeze into a small corner to gossip about this article, ask yourself why, when upon marriage, women tend to go for longer, lose and more comfortable clothes. Or that, husbands will ask of their wives to change into something “more appropriate” before they leave the house? You may want to reconsider the manner of dress if you are to have a sensible appraisal at work or have someone – anyone take you seriously.

I will take offence at the employer who minds my hijab after them demanding that employees dress decently at work. Besides scoffing at you, I will comfortably assume you are insane, hypocritical or are simply inviting me to sue you.

it is indeed for this reason that I gave my self the challenge to organize the first ever Hijab show in my country.