Asset #34 - Cultural Competence - Young person has knowledge of and comfort with people of different cultural/racial/ethnic backgrounds.

PROUD TO WEAR MY HIJAB

December 15, 2004 - Syeda Nodi knew classmates might have trouble accepting the hijab she wore at school. What she didn't know, was that she too, would have to learn to accept it.

by Syeda Rezwana Nodi

"Hey, I wanted to ask you something for a long time. Are you Rezwana from 10th-grade English class?" Priya asked me as I was going to the French office after first period.

It was the second semester of my junior year and I hadn't seen Priya since summer. She was one of my closest friends in 10th grade when she sat beside me in English class.

"Of course it's me, Priya. I don't know how you forgot about me so easily but I still remember you," I smiled.

"Honestly, I didn't recognize you at all," she said laughing. "I guess it's because of that hijab. I swear you look really different."

Priya's not my only friend who didn't recognize me after I started wearing my hijab last summer when I turned 16.

To me, my hijab is not just a piece of cloth that covers my hair. It's the most visible symbol of being a Muslim. One of the reasons Muslim women wear the hijab is to protect them from unwanted attention from men.

And it was my choice to wear one.

It bothers me that people think I'm different, now that I wear a hijab. Yes, it changes my appearance a little - it covers my hair and makes me look like I'm 12 instead of 17.