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Wearing the hijab in Boston
By adamg on Mon, 12/14/2009 - 8:08am
Husna Haq, a BU graduate student, reports for the Christian Science Monitor:
I knew I was in trouble the moment I sat down. I’d just taken a seat next to an elderly Asian woman on the D-line train, on my way to a college class last year. She immediately stiffened. I began reading a book. She started twitching and looking around the train. We passed the first stop. She took out her pocket Bible, reading rapidly aloud as she rocked back and forth, clearly agitated. I felt awful, but I didn’t know how to calm her. Before we reached the next stop, she gathered her bags, hurried down the aisle, and quickly took a seat next to someone else. ...
Via Samuel Scott.
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Comments
I would be more concerned
I would be more concerned about the crazy woman rocking back and forth with her bible.
ditto
ditto
I second that.
I second that.
Ah, the Token Oppressed Hijab Wearer story
I'm a WASP-y looking guy and I sat down on the orange line and sneezed- I held my nose and contained most of it since, well, I was surrounded by people. The woman next to me shot up out of her seat and RAN to the other end of the car. Everyone within about 6 seats looked at each other and we all started laughing.
Also, maybe Husna The Special Snowflake could try riding the Orange Line too, where very often there's at least half a dozen Muslim women wearing hijabs, and nobody giving them any attention, because we see them every day.
Maybe she's also be curious to learn that wearing a bike helmet on the Orange Line seems to be license to get pounded on the head, as it's happened to me twice by Southie trash. One guy didn't like the fact that I had my bike in the only place it's allowed to be- at the end of the car. So he pounded me on my helmet. Well, they're pretty solid, and it HURT.
I wonder when Husna will hit the life stage where she realizes she's not "special"? And I wonder when newspapers will stop running this token, vapid, lets-all-feel-bad-for-the-muslim-girl-after-9-11-who-doesn't-realize-people-are-mean-to-ALL-people crap? And that cities in every country are full of people who are nuts and bigoted?
By the way- why did it matter that the woman she sat down next to was Chinese?
I am beginning to think you
I am beginning to think you get pounded on the head on a regular basis for reasons other then your helmet and bike.
yeah
Must be because I don't subscribe to cliched drivel that is half PC and half racist.
Someone Else Is Being A Special Snowflake!
Quick ... cue Brett to whine "but MY MOMMY SAID THAT I WAS THE SPECIALLEST SNOWFLAKE IN THE UNIVERSE"... nobody else gets to whine like I do cause that's MY ATTENTION ... no faiiiirrrrr!
or that you are a high
or that you are a high maitenence whiner who is never happy with anyone ever. That anyone other then yourself who complains is wrong and should stop complaining. Who seems to get beat down on a regular basis and has regular run ins with the law or complaints about the law. Who can not see a comment about a hajib for what it is and that is a woman who is coming to terms with her own religion in a world that is not designed for her. I found it to be an interesting story in defense of her choice, which apparently it was her choice and how it affects those around her.
I am going to be honest, I do look twice if someone walks into a room in traditional muslim garb. I would be lying if I said I did not have any immediate negative feelings. A few years ago I was going to go to a coffee kiosk but upon seeing the counter help wearing Hajibs I jumped to a different line for a different shop. It was a snap decision and if I had time to reconsider I would have stayed in the line with the better coffee. This is what Muslims have to deal with on a daily basis if they choose to wear traditional Muslim garments. Realize this is coming from someone who wants to give everyone a fair shake in life.
yeah, because my life mirrors my Uhub comments
Plus, I really enjoyed that White Person Guilt speech, complete with the "I would be lying if I said I didn't have any racist thoughts" line. It's like I'm right back in one of those idiotic school "diversity" club meetings or something. *golf clap*.
Hey I am not saying she
Hey I am not saying she deserves special treatment or anything, my white guilt only goes so far. I just feel this woman deserves to be able to relay her story and I have a problem that you have a problem with that.
i could care less
I could care less about what she's wearing and care way more about the germs you're spreading. I ride the T daily and there's always someone about to die on it. The other day on the red line a guy sneezed into his hand and then proceeded to put his hand back on vertical bar to hold on. F'n gross. If you're sick, carry a damn tissue.
That's a totally unremarkable head covering
and I'm surprised anyone even took notice of it. Some Orthodox Jewish women wear similar head covering. I do wonder, however, whether she is ever asked to take it off when entering a bank.
Very occasionally I see a woman wearing a full face covering (burqa), and that is something I do find unsettling, just as I would not like to see people wandering around in ski masks during the summer.
Head Scarves
I've seen elderly women wear those, too ... and bonnets to keep rain off. They cover the same places in the same ways. In the winter time, it is difficult to tell which is religious, which is not.
In any case, I agree that the bible chanter was way weirder than anyone wearing a scarf. Wearing a scarf is not obnoxious. Screaming at a blind person to get a dog away from you (seen it at Davis) or completely cloaking your daughter in a heavy scarf and layers of winter clothing in a bizarre quest for modesty when it's in the 90s and then pulling her away from the misting fan (Sullivan Square - and, yes, I threatened to call police if they didn't let the girl cool down) get you far more negative attention for maladaption to US society.
Elsewhere too
Boston is no exception. Where a burqa in Turkey or Tunisia, people are going to call you a ninja.
I don't think it is that surprising
since people notice (and are bothered by) all sorts of things, especially on a crowded train. Her head covering is not unusual though. Plenty of women in this area wear the same.
She does mention at the end of the article that most reactions are positive.
The headscarf is found in all
The headscarf is found in all religions. I was in Italy this summer with my family, and my sister was asked to wear a cloth to cover her legs (she was wearing shorts, it was 90 degrees) and a headscarf to enter some churches.
When I was in Estonia, we visited a church during service and all the women had head scaves on (not sure what christian denomination it was, possibly eastern orthodox)
And of course, the Burqua is very, very similar to the full catholic nun outfit, which can include a veil.