I hate people’s reactions at work when they meet me for the first time.
“You’re very brave to be veiled.”
“Veiled girls should get married and stay at home.”
And “Veiled girls aren’t competent workers.”
Every girl is completely aware that when she wears the veil,
She’ll have to face all this.
And she accepts standing up against this kind of stereotypical thinking.
Against anyone who tries to stick a label on her.
One that says “My head is out of service.”
But we weren’t ready for other things
I don’t just get viewed as delicate and helpless.
People also constantly criticise the way I look and behave.
“Oh, she’s wearing a ring on her toe. She must be trying to draw attention to her feet!”
Or “Look! She has a nose piercing!”
Or “Oh my God, she works with a lot of men.”
While the behavior of unveiled girls’ is compared to that of other girls their age and of their circumstances,
Our behaviour is compared to that of nuns.