A few month ago my second youngest child, Darling, aged 9, asked me if she could wear her hijab to school. I asked her if she was sure, and on hearing that she was, I said of course she could.
I can’t lie, I hesitated for a few
moments. Not because I don’t love the hijab and am proud of her, but because I
know that perhaps people might treat her differently because of it. They may
see her as a Muslim before they see her as a child. Some will assume that I and
her dad made her wear it.
Of course, I said yes and told her I was
very proud of her. Of course, the first day she wore it to school, someone told
her she “looked like an Indian” and of course it being Darling she happily told
of them and had them missing playtime for a week, much to her glee.
She has taken it quite seriously, both
making sure she wears it every day and making sure she matches it to her
outfit. My youngest seems to have decided she likes the idea as well and asked if
she can wear it too. She has adopted it
in her own wild and dishevelled way, in contrast to Darlings meticulous
neatness. On more than one occasion she has gotten half way to school and
realised she has forgotten it. Most days most of her hair is sticking out of
the front and her little hijab is lopsided.
I think a big part of their decision to
wear hijab is linked to their going back to the masjid for Quran classes after
two years of online lessons. They are in a class for two hours every day with
other little Muslimah’s and two lovely young teachers who have recently
graduated as Islamic scholars. These two teachers have been phenomenal positive
role models for them, bringing them closer to the faith and bringing it to life
for them, complementing teaching with stories, time to play, crafts and little
gifts for the girls.
I pray that they love wearing hijab as
much as their mum does for the rest of their lives and that Allah (SWT) is
pleased with them, their teachers and accepts it from them and us.
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