…Before you paint that picture

We condemn them, we tend to alienate them, we expect them to be perfect, yet they are just human being like us. They are HAJIAS, they cover up themselves in compliance with their religious teaching, some envy them, some dislike them, some understand them, few adore them, and others simply ignore them.

Hello!

Hello, is that Gallant communications please,

Yes please, how may I help you?

I have been to your office earlier, just wanted to know if you around now,

Yes I am

Okay then, would join you shortly

Alright we would be expecting you.

To some people this may come as a self defense or a reason to justify an action but really, I just want to write to at least make some people understand that certain things don’t work the way they think! Whichever way you see this write up, well it is basically to correct a wrong impression, nothing  less, nothing more.

I have written something on this way back but in a slightly different dimension and I think I did say to myself that am not going to write on this again, well at least not from that same angle, but the above telephone conversion which led to a face to face conversation that same day made me change my mind, I just know immediately that I hath to write something on this.

You know, my conversation with the CEO of Gallant communications really made me want to say it all, first of all, I would like to establish here that being an hajia does not mean I am or neither do I think any other hajia would claim to be a perfect human, perfection belongs to the Almighty alone, so I would take up my writing on this bases : only God is PERFECT.

Permit me to say here that as humans, we want to strive in our own little way to please God and this could come in different form to different people.

The desire to use the head cover though may be influenced by someone or something, but the overall decision like for me, and I want to believe for so many others is a personal decision in compliance to Gods’ commandment as he states in:

Quran 35 verse 59(Al Ahzab)

O prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believer to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is ever oft forgiven, most merciful.

See also Quran 24 verse 31(An Nur)

Back to my conversation with the CEO of Gallant communications, we were discussing on general issues and of course what I do which is related to the media, while I wait for him to carry out my transaction request and he just said but young lady, your look and your personality are different.

What do you mean sir, I asked?

Well, it is just that…why do you dress like this (obviously referring to my head cover), do you have to? Without waiting for my response, he continued, from our conversation have been able to gather that you are sound but this your dressing , an ordinary person who sees you on the street would not know that you are this loaded.( whatever  he meant by loaded anyway).

Thank God you said an ordinary person, I interjected him, because it takes more than an ordinary person to know that it goes beyond the head covering, for crying out loud, I cover my head not my brain!

How on earth would someone think that because I use hijab, then I am supposed to be less intelligent, less exposed, less beautiful, less smart, and less of all the positive adjectives you can think of? Haba!, really it takes an ordinary being to think that way.

Like I said earlier, for me the decision to use the head cover is a personal one and I do not see it limiting me in any way whatsoever. I am not perfect, neither am I saying am more pious or God fearing  than those who do not use it. Remember first of all that we are all humans before every other thing such as sex, tribe, religion, race, and even Hijab sets in, Yoruba people would say “eyan le yan o ma je(humans would always be humans)

It is annoying when we see an hajia excelling in her chosen field and people say Alhaja lasan lasan (ordinary Alhaja) what for? We expect them not to react the normal way people would react to issues, we expect not to see them in relationships, and when we see some of them looking good, we give them all sorts of names. I can go on…

The most annoying part of it is paying special attention when we see some of them really doing well as if the head cover is meant to cover up their intelligence.

I could go on but the bottom line is that they are just like you.

Hajia’s are first of all humans, they have feelings like every other persons and they are striving to be better Muslims and obey their Lord.

So before you paint that picture, don’t even try to underrate anybody, because no body is a nobody before God. We are not perfect, neither did Hijab mean we are more pious than those who do not use it. We are only striving to see God’s mercy.

So all you ordinary mind, think before you paint that picture, don’t judge a book by it’s cover , don’t judge one by all, relate well with us before you condemn us, don’t paint the wrong picture.

Hijab does not make us less of human, neither does it necessarily make us a super human.

I am proud of my Hijab, I do not do this for anybody or because of anybody, if you can’t do something, don’t condemn those doing it.

I am an Hajia and I represent my hood well, no shaking!