I Aspire Too.

Asalaam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatu 🙂

As per usual, I am having an issue with putting what’s in my head down on paper so you have to bare with me once again.  If you read my Hijab story you’ll remember me saying that after I made the decision to wear the hijab, I encountered some problems.  I’m going to have a little rant about one of the problems I’m having.

It seems to me that some individuals have deluded themselves into thinking that since I have become a certified Hijabi ALL I CARE about is finding a bearded man who fears Allah and bearing his children.   While I definitely see this is in my future, I can assure you it is not ALL that rattles my brain.  People seem to think that the Hijab not only covers my head, but also covers my MIND.  I no longer have the ability to THINK for myself nor do I have VALID thoughts and opinions; I have no ambition to do ANYTHING outside of the home maker role and I have traded in ALL my aspirations and future plans for a life that this society views as “Backward”.

WHO on earth LIED to them?

All that I wanted to do before I made the decision to wear the Hijab I STILL want to do NOW. Yes.  Sheila, ME, A Muslim Woman, A HIJABI.  I still want to complete and graduate with a first class degree, I still want to develop a career within the psychology or management fields, I still want to own a home and DRIVE a REAL CAR, I still want to travel the world seeing and communicating with Allah’s creation, I still want to build a school somewhere, I still want to volunteer at the 2012 Olympics, I still want to do the girls night out/in every now and then, I still want to go swimming when I feel like it, I still want to deliver the mother of ALL roundhouse kicks to George Bush (I Joke I Joke), I STILL want to quad bike in the Arabian desert and the list goes on.  Why can I not do all of these things and MORE? Why can’t my sisters design landmarks, organise events, counsel young people, run restaurants, edit magazines and become doctors? Because we guard our modesty? HA!  I’m sure MANY of you sisters can relate to this!

The hijab means to cover NOT to restrict.  How exactly does a piece of cloth put a clamp on my future aspirations and “success”?  The only way this can happen is if society itself decides to hold me back because it doesn’t want to understand or respect MY decision to keep my body personal.  I’m preparing myself to shatter through these glass ceilings but if these managers, executives, CEO’s and businesses of the west are all hell bent on not letting the sisters progress because they have a problem with the Hijab or Islam then there is only so much I can do.  Chasing this Dunya to crazy extremes is not something I shall ever be willing to do, saying that though I won’t go down quickly or easily.  AND yes, sometimes taking part in certain activities or doing certain things does get a little bit more complicated for a woman that covers but if we REALLY want to do something then we’ll find a way, it only really means putting in a little bit more effort and most of us sisters don’t have a problem with that.  The way I dress is not an excuse for me to not reach my full potential and be the best person I can be.  How much longer do we Muslim women have to scream to the world “NO we are not Oppressed”, “NO we DO NOT need Liberating”, “We Actually LOVE The Hijab”, “YES Islam gives us FREEDOM”.  My throat is sore now World, it really is.  Just because the answer you get from us Muslim women about the Hijab and Islam isn’t what you yourself feel Hijab and Islam is, does not mean we are telling porky pies.

Back to the wife and mother roles, I want that for myself too Insha’Allah.  What is so wrong about that?  Oh yes, I’m a Muslim.  I swear non-Muslim women do not get the same slack my Muslim sisters do when they too make the conscious decision to TEMPORARILY put their plans on hold to safe guard the well being of their families, or maybe they do.  It seems to me that our stay at home mothers are not getting the respect they deserve these days.  Cameron has stated that the breakdown of society is a result of the breakdown of the family unit but some of society still wants me to prioritise my JOB over my future family.  Nope.  If I at ANY point feel like chasing “the dream” has a negative impact on the relationship between me and my future husband or me and my future mini me’s then I shall put the chase on pause in a heartbeat and I will be damn happy about it too because it will be MY decision and will benefit MY familia.  My aim is to live my life in a way that does not transgress the limits put up by Allah and be the person my Creator made me to be not the person His creation wants me to be.

Also, can people please remember that under the Hijabs, Niqabs and Jilbabs are REAL LIVING BREATHING HUMAN BEINGS who just want to live.   So… Can we LIVE?

I’ll leave you with this uplifting talk, honouring my sisters in Islam.  http://www.halaltube.com/women-in-islam ♥

(Apologies for any confusion guys I think I may have put one too many thoughts and opinions down (I told you that I had ‘em))

~ Sheila N

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