This morning, Channel Islam International granted me the platform to share my story, "Off with her hijab!". 

Click the link below to listen to the full interview between morning presenter Brother Ebrahim and myself.

INTERVIEW PODCAST

Hijab is our free choice and our beautiful right!

OFF WITH HER HIJAB!

 
When you think of South Africa, the words Mandela, peace, democracy, apartheid, safari, to name a few, come to mind. Up until a few years ago, I strongly believed that South Africa was one of those very few countries with religious tolerance especially for Islam, I mean isn't that what Mandela fought for and meant in his Inaugural Address when he said, "Our single most important challenge is to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual."

I believe African people above all should be the ones upholding that legacy, Mandela might have been African, but he fought against oppression for ALL people!

In African culture in South Africa, many women are expected to cover their hair and dress modestly especially after marriage and Raidah and I have been stopped by numerous African non-muslim women to ask us how we tie our hijab.

With all this in mind, I was no where near prepared for the harsh reality check!

Word of the month: Perspective - the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance.

The month of January has been about perspectives. From starting this blog with my sisters, being told to "take that THING off your head", to coming home to Swedish equality and attending a funeral in the snow, taking a few steps back and getting a dose of perspective is always healthy.

Melancholy snow

For me, funerals are like walking past an open window. You want to look in even though you feel a sense of shame for being inquisitive but once you do you've already walked past and you're only left with a glimpse. Funerals give us that window into the certainty of death. We're scared to look through it for fear of seeing the inescapable unknown yet we cannot help being drawn towards it.