Niqab

Salika Sufisticate Danya an-Niqabi posts on her decision to wear niqab in Jordan:

"So why do I love my niqab? I can’t say for sure. I do feel safer. Men don’t oggle at me and if they are staring at me, they can’t see anything. I like the idea that you only get to see me if I let you- that is, if you have a right to. Most men on this planet have no right whatsoever over me and therefore have no control over me. I like the idea I can sit in class and smirk at something and no one knows it. I like the mystery of it. When I wear my niqab, I feel myself in true submission to God and no one else. It’s a different feeling than when I wear hijab when I am in the states. I wear colors, cute skirts, and so on. Although my clothes cover what needs to be covered (ie, my ‘awra- all but face and hands), something is missing. When I wear abaya, also feel more in obedience to God, but niqab- well, that’s just something else.

"But Danya, don’t you feel like a ghost? No, I feel more like a ninja. People see through ghosts, but not niqabis. The fact of the matter is, niqabis are held in awe on some level or another. Brothers fear us and I like that. :mrgreen: We are seen but we are hidden. Why do some people have an obessesion with being known? Why is there the assumption that if we can not see something, it can not benefit? Why can’t the hidden inner (al-khafi) be appreciated? Why must we know everything and why must things be superficial? This a problem with Western culture and I think leads to the oppression of women in general but that’s a blog post for another time."