“My name is Anam. I began to wear a hijab earlier this year after attending Islamic lectures with my naani (grandmother) in the colony. My mother does not cover her hair and neither do my sisters. Why did I start wearing a hijab? Bus! Mairee marzee! (My wish!)” This encounter with Anam was quite eye-opening for me. For years I have criticized acts of veiling employed by girl children. I have seen girls within family and the larger community struggle with taking on and removing the hijab. I am aware that societal pressure and coercion can influence younger girls to take on veils over their hair, without fully comprehending the complex reasons behind their acts of veiling. However, as can be seen through this collaboration with Anam, the women in Anam’s immediate family, like her mother and sisters, choose not to cover their hair. There is no compulsion in Anam’s living environment for her to veil her hair. Her father, the patriarch of the family, is more keen on educating his daughters than worrying about whether their hair is veiled or not. Yet, Anam has decided to take on the hijab. I had to check my own biases here, because before meeting Anam, I had already presumed that her choice to veil her hair was imposed on her by her family members, but this was not the case. Join us at the Emergence Symposium: Arts & Equity, Leading Social Change (Humber College, Toronto) on November 21, 2018 where I will be presenting my artistic and academic research on veiling practices. Register now on EventBrite.
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