I wore the hijab when I was 17 years old.
I wasn’t influenced by Amr Khaled.
The type that got really emotional and exclaimed,
“I swear to God I’m not leaving this house without the hijab!”
I wasn’t a member of the community that called itself “The Righteous Companions.”
My mother wasn’t one of those super religious women,
Who’d pray I’d find guidance from Allah and wear the proper Islamic attire.

None of the women in my family wear the hijab,
Even though they believe in God and perform all the prayers.
They consider the hijab a “fad” and just another fashion trend,
And that it’s for “cleaning ladies and old women” to wear.

I won’t get into why I decided to wear it.
I took the decision after discussing it with my parents for a whole year.
That’s when I finally took the step.
I’m sure you could imagine how my family reacted based on everything I just said.
“I’m not going to speak with you until you take it off,” my mother said after seeing me with the hijab for the first time.
And that was it.
The rest of my family neither supported nor discouraged me.
“Is this a new trend?” my uncle’s wife asked.
Some tried to convince me to take it off just to please my mother.

Most of my friends were supportive.
Some wondered about how the hijab would affect certain aspects of my life.
“How will you go swimming?”
“What will you do on your wedding day?”
“How are you going to find a job?”
I noticed how some guys avoided me,
And how some of them became more conservative in dealing with me.

My cousin, who was my best friend, was travelling at that time.
She didn’t know the reasons behind my decision.
But she would call me every other day and ask,
“Are you still veiled?”
She bought me all sorts of revealing clothes on her trip.
She calls me and “people like me” sheep.
I stopped trying to defend myself and the “people like me” when I realized that we’re not worthy,
Because most of us have reduced the hijab to just a headscarf.

Studying at the Faculty of Mass Communication wasn’t a very wise decision after deciding to wear the hijab.
The fact that most graduates of the university are hijabis now is considered progress.
During my time there, the hijab was still something new.
People didn’t understand why a hijabi would want to study mass communication.
I went to a private university.
I know it was because my mother was worried I’d join the Muslim Brotherhood,
Or the Takfir wal-Hijra group [Excommunication and Exodus group, a radical Islamist group].
I know that she was worried I’d want to marry a man with a bushy beard and a galabiyya.

Aside from my family, our society has made sure to judge me,
Label me,
And lay down its conditions on me.
Don’t wear this,
Don’t do that,
Don’t go there,
Don’t work.
And if you happen to do any of these forbidden things,
Your hijab would be considered faulty,
And they’ll tell you it’s better for you to take it off.
Long story short,
Despite the constant need for Egyptian women to wear the hijab,
Those who wear it aren’t left alone either.
People are neither happy with us wearing the hijab, nor not wearing it.