To you they may seem oppressed, suppressed and silenced. But are they really? They cover themselves for modesty as set by Allah (God) yet they are deemed not to be free. Some cover with the hijab others with the niqab. The hijab is a headscarf used to cover the head and neck while the niqab covers everything except the eyes.

The reason why Muslim women wear the hijab is because Allah made it a required act of worship for them. Muslim women are required to cover their body with modest clothing that does not reveal their figure to male strangers. Wearing the hijab is an act of submission to Allah. The hijab represents modesty; it is an act of worship and protection against lustful looks of others. The niqab is not required but it is just an extra degree of hijab.

UVI has a small population of Muslim girls but yet they are noticeable in numbers. Brenda Miray, a sophomore, who is pursuing a degree in psychology, is a Muslim convert. Miray first wore the hijab and then decided to wear the niqab. She has been searching for a religion for two years and when she found Islam she “knew it was the truth.” Her family was supportive but yet when she decided to wear the niqab there was some resistance. Her sister said that she will lose her identity. Instead Miray says she “felt empowered when I go out.”

Influenced mainly by her family, Amiee Asad, a junior in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, has been wearing the hijab for a year. In her freshman year she looked just like any other college girl and then during her sophomore year she decided to wear the hijab.

Asad’s friends and teachers were shocked when they saw her wearing the hijab. She said “that they were shocked and sorta surprised. I didn’t look like the kind of girl that will one day put on a hijab.” She also says “I feel normal, just like how I felt when I didn’t wear it. It’s just like an accessory like a hat.”

Wearing either the hijab or niqab has its advantages. “When people speak to me, they really listen to what I am saying and they don’t judge me by what I look like or if I am wearing the latest fashions or anything. They judge me by what I say and my actions,” Brenda says.

But there are always some misunderstandings. Asad has been looked down on, the same people she knew before wearing the hijab looked at her differently after she put on the hijab. She says the biggest challenge she has faced is getting a job. “I can’t get a job. People second guess my education and my experience. Everything I have done and accomplished doesn’t matter because of what I wear.”

Wearing the niqab, Miray gets similar reactions. People are afraid of her but children are more afraid. She believes they have this fear of her because they don’t know why she is wearing the niqab or what it stands for. She says that “the niqab is not meant to be a symbol of fear or oppression but it is a symbol of freedom.” She also said that “many people have the misconception that niqabis (women who wear the niqab) are forced to wear it by their husbands and fathers but in truth, most women choose to wear it. And that a lot of women who wear the niqab experience hostility from their family because of their choice but most of them stick to it.”

Miray believes that the half-naked women, whom the media is pumping out images of, are not liberated. She said “Women become slaves to the media trying to be a certain way and fit a certain image of what a woman is supposed to look like. Muslim women are saved from this type of oppression by wearing their hijab.” Miray explains that she does not think of women who do not cover in a negative way. She believes that people should be able to dress in whatever way they feel appropriate for them.

Asad says she sometimes regret wearing the hijab. When seeing others dress freely and she is fully covered, regret shadows on her. But even though she sometimes regret she will never take it off.

Though Asad and Miray do not cover to the same degree they both agree that others should not judge them by what they wear. They both wanted to send a message out to non-Muslims. Asad says “don’t judge people by what they wear, if we don’t judge you like that, don’t be a hypocrite and judge the book by its cover. As for Miray she says, “I think that other people should extend freedom to Muslim women who choose to cover up.”