I covered my head in the tenth grade.
My brother—who had gone down the road of "piety and religious extremism"—forced me to wear the headscarf.  
Since my older sister wasn't veiled—there's a 10 year difference between us and she's also older than him—
he decided to act all pious and force his younger sister to cover before it was ”too late”.
Just so you know, my father, rest his soul,
 who died when my sister was in her final year of university, never forced her to wear the veil nor did he ever ask her to.
 
One time, my brother saw me standing with a group of male classmates after school lessons.
We were photocopying class notes.
We were a large group of girls and boys.
My brother had a long fight with me about it. He thought I was acting slutty.
I got a beating, and he locked me up at home.
He gathered all my pants and ripped them to shreds. He did the same to my t-shirts.  
He made me stay at home and said I wouldn't go out again.
“But what about school? Her education?” mama asked.
"To hell with her education".
My mother tried to stand up to him, but he brought a knife out and said, "If she goes out, I'll chop her head off".
Mama and I left the house for a few days till things cooled down.
When we returned home, she made me wear the veil,
 because "We didn't want any more trouble",
and I went home with my head covered.
 
He kept on controlling and oppressing me.
When I passed my high school exams, my older sister bought me a mobile phone as a graduation gift.
He broke it into a hundred pieces so that I wouldn’t own a mobile phone and talk to boys.
Of course, he needs to keep tabs on who I’m talking to!
 
When I started looking for jobs after I graduated from university, he tried to put a stop to it,
under the pretext of a woman being 'awraa, something that should be hidden and kept out of sight.
He said that a woman shouldn't go out unless it was absolutely necessary,
and that I would have to interact with men at a workplace.
 I stood up to him at that point, along with my mom, sister, and other brother (who was passive all throughout the past events).
They stood by my side and I insisted on getting a job.
He threatened to stop talking to me
 I didn't care and got a job anyway.
 He stopped talking to me for three years.
 He got married and had a baby, and I wasn't there for any of these occasions.
 He only spoke to me once when I had an accident and was hospitalized.
 
This estrangement went on for a few years.
All during that time, even though I prayed every day, I was still obsessed with taking the veil off.
I used to broach the subject with my mom every once and a while, but she’d put her foot down.
Even though she allowed me to take it off to attend weddings or go to the beach, but of course, that was behind my brother's back.
 
I decided to take it off after turning 30, come hell or high water.
 I don't control anyone's life nor do I force anyone to do anything.
 I don't judge people based on their degree of piety or their commitment to religion. So why should I be forced to do something against my will?
 
So, it happened. I took it off, and all hell broke loose. Mama left the house and was very angry at me, both my brothers stopped speaking to me.
 The brother I had a good relationship with threatened to cut me off because I was causing him harm.
Mind you, none of them ever fought with me over praying or because of my clothes, which weren’t exactly in accordance to the rules of hijab.
I'd tell my brother, "But my clothes are tight, my neck is showing, and I wear three quarter sleeves".
"That's what all girls do”, he said, “but at least you’re still considered to be a veiled woman. We let you dress the way you want so we don't repress you, and you pay us back by taking it off!"
 
Besides my family’s reaction, I received a few reactions from some colleagues at work.
 Some stopped talking to me, some reproached me, some offered unsolicited advice, and those who dropped a nasty comment, got a nastier one in return.
 
Then there were my friends: one who called me to attack my decision, even though her clothes were not in accordance with the rules of hijab.
Still, she made a huge deal about me taking it off.
Other friends whom I hadn't spoken to in years decided to send me links to videos of religious lectures, sermons, etc.
 
I took off the veil a year ago, and my brothers still don't speak to me at all.
My mom, thank God, calmed down after a while and treated me normally again. My sister stood by my side all the time, not just with the veil decision, but with issues related to my personal freedom and choices.
 
All this made me much stronger and taught me to distinguish between genuinely decent people and people who pretend to be respectful.
People who practise religion in their lives correctly and those who only fake being religious.
 
I have no regrets since then, and I've gotten used to having only one sibling.
 I have no need for anyone who controls and puts me down in the name of religion and guardianship.
I still enjoy every moment I stand in front of the mirror and see myself in the image that I imagined all my life, an image of me that was locked away against my will.  
 
I don't walk around half naked, my behavior hasn't become perverse, nor did I turn into a whore because I took the veil off. I've just become myself