Hijabi. ????

"Hijabi" is a very common way that I have been addressed as in the last few years, ever since I started wearing the Headscarf...

For those who are not aware of the "Hijab", it is a way of dressing where the woman is covered from head to toe, with just the face and hands (upto the wrists) are visible, and it very much includes wearing a head-scarf (picture below).

Not that being called a Hijabi sounds bad, but I have been given a name by my parents and I prefer to be addressed by that name...

Would you call someone who always wears Jeans "Jeanie" or "Jeansie"?

How about those who are ever dressed in Salwar Suits? Would they be addressed as "Salwis" or something like that???

Then why does dressing in a Hijab make you a Hijabi? Not just that - it also makes you "conservative", "oppressed", "silenced" and a whole list of other ideologies... You BECOME the clothing and the Ideology.

Do you cease being you when you decide to dress a certain way or advocate a certain ideology?

I was under the impression that we have a Choice... To choose how we dress and define our own sense of style. But it seems to me that my choice of dressing has led people to believe that my attire is ME.

Since when are people "attires" and "ideologies"? If we do not label people as Jeansie or Salwis, then why label me (and countless other women) a Hijabi?

Why the double standards? Why the naming?

Dressing up in a Hijab was a very personal, informed and conscious decision that I made, and stand-by till date. No force, no compulsion, no influence, no coercion whatsoever can be blamed for it.

And so have countless other women around the world made a choice.

Its time that we respect people for their choices and ideologies. Not "name" them and "define" them with something so superficial as clothing.

Next time you come across a woman wearing a Hijab, don't address her by her attire. She may not be offended, but surely will not appreciate it either.

Rather, just walk up to her and know her story. You will be glad you did.!

Until next time, adios amigos!