Can Muslim Women Wear Makeup in Public?
Nonetheless, people have a difficult time relating to me. After all, I am a young university graduate who was born and raised in Canada. "Why should you wear the hijab?" they ask.
People who do not know me speak to me in loud, slow English and often appear to be playing charades. They politely inquire whether I like it here or not and whether the cold weather bothers me or not. If I am in the right mood, it can be very amusing.
Strangely, when women reject this form of oppression, they face ridicule and contempt. When they refuse to wear makeup or expose their bodies, the entire society has some trouble dealing with them.
In the West, many people regard the hijab as a symbol of either forced silence or radical, unconscionable militancy. Actually, it is neither. It is simply a woman's assertion that judgment of her physique plays no role in social interaction.
This article was published in 2009. It has been taken with modifications from Geocities.com.