Being an Asian hijabi woman at Barts Health
To mark World Hijab Day, the BAME Network has put together a quiz to help improve your knowledge of why women wear a headscarf.
QUIZ: How well do you know the hijab?
Also, hear from HR advisor, Rabia, who reflects on her experience of wearing a hijab at Barts Health.
As an Asian hijabi woman I am no stranger to discrimination. Being a visibly Muslim woman, and living in a world full of misconceptions and Islamophobia can be, at times, incredibly difficult. Whether it is being verbally abused on the street unprovoked or unconscious biases at the work place and in life, discrimination is something that I and anyone who is visibly different live with and fight against. I hope we all find the courage to fight back against discrimination.
If there’s one thing I’d like people to take away from this piece it’s that I wear my hijab because I choose to. Not because I have ever felt forced or coerced to but because it is part of my faith and makes me feel close to God. I think everyone’s reasoning is personal to them and I do find it frustrating that in some countries women are banned from wearing hijabs in public places. Especially when we consider that, on a white woman in French Vogue, wearing a headscarf is seen as the ultimate fashion statement.
While I find comfort in working somewhere that has inclusion as a top priority, I do believe there is still much work to do look to progress real change. This is why I signed up to become a site lead for the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) network at The Royal London Hospital with my colleagues, Safina and Tatenda.
We work in such a diverse place, with people from all backgrounds and it’s really beautiful to be part of this. It is so important to feel like we are working in a place that recognises the strengths in our differences and is making all the effort to embrace it and to work towards helping us break down barriers.
As I mentioned, a big part of wearing my hijab is about being modest and feeling close to God. But as I’ve gotten older, it has become something much more. Now, wearing my hijab is just one of the ways I show strength against bigotry. The idea that wearing a hijab or being a Muslim woman means you are less capable of achieving or experiencing certain things is something I want to squash.
I still travel the world, jet ski, paraglide and recently met the elephants in the sanctuaries of Thailand.
I love my hijab and it has never stopped me from achieving anything I have wanted in life. It’s a symbol of my faith, strength against both bigotry and the beauty standards of this world.
Read more
Read Rabia’s interview with Bedfordshire Live