My sister once gave me a card with pink flowers and pearls on it and some words on the back.
“My friend made them,” she said.
“She’s giving them out for free.”

I felt a strong urge to just kill my sister and her friend as soon as I read what was on it.

The words on the back of the card told the story of a flower and a pearl.
The flower complained to the pearl about how people were treating her badly.
And the pearl told her how safe she felt buried deep down in the ocean.

The pearl was locked away in an oyster, far away from people.
And according to the pearl that made her far more valuable and precious.

Written after the story was,
“The flower symbolizes non-hijabi girls
Who show off their bodies.
While the pearl symbolizes hijabi girls who cover their bodies.”

That’s it? That’s what you think the hijab represents?
After all those feminist movements,
And talks about women’s rights,
And how women are not just confined to the bedroom,
We’re told by a piece of paper to cover our bodies because that’s what women are reduced to?
I’m not a pearl.
I’m a human being.