"Are you oppressed?"
It's a question I have never been asked , a question that's asked all over the world to all kinds of Muslim women that adhere to guard their modesty
But I often wonder, what if I'm ever asked that question? What will be my answer? Am I oppressed?
The answer is, yes. Yes, I'm oppressed. Yes, I'm oppressed when my mother forces me to wear fancy clothes to weddings when all I want to wear is an abaya*.
Yes, I was oppressed when I was compelled to spend money on clothes I know I'll only wear once or actually wore a dress only once so that people wouldn't judge me.
Yes, I'm oppressed when people think I shouldn't be covering my head or face when no unknown men is around or even worst when people say, "Who's here, anyway!", when there are clearly few men lingering on their backs.
Yes, I feel oppressed when I'm expected to follow a dress code, a designated attire for a particular event. When I'm expected to follow the crowd and mingle with them, losing my own identity.
Yes, I feel oppressed when I get judged for trying to be modest or trying to be a little better than I was before.
Yes, I feel oppressed when everyone thinks I've suddenly become righteous or I'm acting like a righteous person and every sin that I commit after that is more culpable than it normally is.
Yes, I feel oppressed when people think I'm going too far and that my actions are unnecessary.
Yes, I feel oppressed when people assume that the only reason I must be covering is because my family is conservative.
Yes, I feel oppressed when my mother says I no longer have to get a hair cut because I'm not gonna show my hair to anyone anyway.
Yes, I feel oppressed when people assume I'm oppressed.
Oppression doesn't mean that someone's body gets covered but rather it means that someone's mind gets covered.
A person can be free in the sight of everyone but mentally oppressed. As Harriet Tubman once said, "I freed a thousand slaves but could've freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."
I was oppressed when people thought I was free. I'm free now when I'm labelled as oppressed.
so ask yourself today, are you oppressed? is your mind in shackles? or do you freely choose to be the person you are today?
Because without choosing something completely on your own, you can't internalize the true meaning and value of that thing.
Glossary
Abaya: a gown which covers your entire body
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My Niqab Story
Andlig"The deeper you are in the dark, the more desire you feel to be in the light and the more you are familiar with the light, the more efficiently you'll embrace it." ----------------------------------------------------------------- 0% Fiction 35% Humo...
