First off, time for another shameless plug – I updated my website, so check it out if you so wish. =)

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Most people think of hijab (the veil) when they think of Arab, or Muslim women. Living here has given me an entirely new spin on why and how it’s worn. Apparently before the Gulf War very, very few women wore hijab – basically only the old people. Afterwards, for the first time in most of the region there was a wide distribution of satellites, connecting everyone with the West in a much more tangible way.

Since then there has been an astronomical increase in women who wear hijab. There are several reasons – (1) a political statement in support of Islam; although hijab isn’t actually required in the Qur’an, it has come to be accepted among the Islamic scholars and so is seen as apart of pious. (2) a political statement against Westernization; women have become more modest in their dress since being exposed to the immodest West – it is a way of reclaiming social values by expressing them with clothing. (3) it’s quite fashionable; very few women wear burkas (facial coverings) here, and the wide variety of scarves is unbelievable – they’re very beautiful and can be worn in so many ways – many girls have their own styles. They even make scarves that have name brands printed on them such as Chanel or Gucci. (4) respect; many women wear hijab simply as a way to appease others and not have to worry about people wondering about her devotion to her family or Islam – in some professions wearing hijab may get you farther, although there are also many occupations where they would frown on it. (5) parents want them to; I think that most women choose to wear it in Jordan because of one of the above answers, although there are some women whose families probably force them to do it. Obviously, a country like Saudi is much different than Jordan because it’s the law there, and because of that, probably a lot less women want to. No one wants to be forced into anything.

I very rarely wear hijab. There’s a pretty big chunk of the women in the city who don’t wear it, either because they are more liberal Muslims, they’re Christians, or their foreigners. Since it has a religious meaning here, I generally only wear it when I’m out in the desert, where it is virtually necessary to keep the sun away, or in a rural village where I think it’d be shocking for people to see blond hair.

I do get stared at more because I don’t wear it around town, but for the most part I’m used to it.

Women go to salons and get their hair done just as often as in the U.S., so you never know what to expect – I’ve even seen blue hair before! It’ll be strange to get back to the States and see everyone’s hair again… it’s kind of exciting to get to know a girl in public who wears hijab, and then see what kind of hair style and color she has when we’re in her house.

So, I know that this is one of those topics that people often have a lot of questions about, or want to know more about – so if anyone does, just leave a comment and I’ll try and answer it as best as I can.

[picture: me in hijab]