Preview

Does My Head Look Big In This Culture

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
351 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Does My Head Look Big In This Culture
In the text “Does my head look big in this” by Randa Abdel – Fattah the main character Amal makes a decision to wear a hijab full time “voluntarily”. The decision to wear a hijab changes the way she sees herself, her faith and her culture. Amal’s thoughts on herself change her confidence level, her views on her faith change by the safety and connection with the world around her that she feels when wearing the hijab, which intern helps her identify her identity. The way she sees her culture changes when she starts understanding the traditions and values that the people around where raised with. Amal’s decision to wear a hijab all the time changes her confidence. Before wearing the hijab as a “full timer” Amal was confident when going out

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    A major contradiction in this story is that the young woman feels torn between two different ways of life. One being an obedient Muslim in Tehran Iran and the other taking place in her new American home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. While staying in Iran, she is forced to wear hijab, the Islamic covering, and at times her misses being able to feel the wind blow threw her hair. Having to go back and forth between two life styles is a hard adjustment for her to make. AS a result, this causes her to question her views on Islam and to ask why women are so different from men.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Amaiya Zafar Obstacles

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page

    The central idea of this article is about a young girl named Amaiya Zafar, who wants to be a boxer, but has encountered obstacles from fulfilling her goal. According to the article, Amaiya wants to wear a hijab during a boxing tournament, but international rules that govern the sport state that she may not wear a hijab during a match. Another obstacle in Amaiya's way is that she stands at 5 feet i inch tall and weighs 106 pounds, this means that there aren't a number of opponents she can go up against. The final obstacle Amaiya faces is that she wants to wear a long sleeved shirt and leggings beneath her tank top and shorts, but rules state that she cannot do…

    • 124 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anne Applebaum’s "Veiled Insult" first appeared in the Washington Post in 2006. In this essay, Applebaum aims to convince her readers that it is disrespectful for Muslim women to wear their headscarves or niqabs (full bodied cloak) in our western society, just as it is disrespectful for our women to go to their society uncloaked. In delivering her message she also brings to attention the political issue of whether or not it is religious discrimination to allow, or not allow muslim women to wear their cloaks, and in the end she gives us her opinion, “it isn’t religious discrimination or anti-Muslim bias to tell her that she must be polite to the natives, respect the local customs, try to speak some of the local patois -- and uncover her face.” Applebaum uses her personal experiences combined with her American worldview to convince her readers (the American public) that for Muslim women to wear their cloaks in American culture is disrespectful and insensitive. Although those techniques may have worked, her strongest argument is perhaps playing on the emotions of the still sensitive and emotionally scarred, post 9/11…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Naheed Mustafa, a young Muslim who began to wear the hijab once she blossomed out of her teenage years, finds it difficult to apprehend the fact as to why society views her differently compared to other girls her age. Due to the mere fact that she wears a hijab, she gets a “whole gamut of strange looks, stares, and covert glances.” Because she lives in Canada, which adapts the Western culture, wearing a hijab is not very common. Because of this Naheed and many others like her, are often viewed as outcasts and treated differently. This takes a huge toll on one’s identity which can be either negative or positive. However, Naheed abides by her choices and wishes to make a positive change out of it.…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Garments were arranged to display the patterns and quality of fabrics on all layers and add bulk to the body image. The more former the occasion or higher the status of the weaver, the more layers worn, with richer materials further indicating wealth.” Explained in Charlotte Jirousek article Islamic Clothing. Wearing the hijab was crucial while in public due to the exposer of the body. Any woman that was unveiled was viewed by men as a naked woman. Women should be covered to protect what is considered the men’s property at all times unless around immediate family in their homes. That is why “Women wear the Hijab around strangers (especially males) that they do not consider as part of their family. It is believed that this lessens the chance of them having bad thoughts about them, this includes sexual desires. They believe that the external part of a person is not important but what it inside.” Said in the article Why Do Woman Wear Hijab, Maureen. Women started to adapt to their cultural upbringings, they believed this was a way to keep themselves treasured. Some Islamic woman seen no harm in this, they didn’t feel as if the men dominated them, or were obeying them as their property. They felt as if all women should feel the need to be veiled so they’re not perceived as just a sex object. They would like men to be attentive to their personalities and mind not their looks. Today, women have more of a choice to be veiled. There are a lot of women who use the hijab and not the gown due to the evolving changes in fashion and liberal few points. They feel that it denies the women the freedom to decide on their own…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the exposition we meet our protagonist who is a young women of Islam who wears the traditional veil that muslim women are advised to wear under the law of the Quran were it says, “And tell the believing women to reduce some of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which necessarily appears thereof and to wrap a portion of their head covers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women.(Quran).” Some women are not wearing veils. As readers, we come to the conclusion that the protagonist is a faithful woman of Islam. The veil is a symbol of power to women who wear it because they have the gift of modesty and can show their dedication to Allah. What is interesting is that even though the veil is supposed to cover the body and keep men from giving attention to a woman’s body, men are drawn to the women in veils because they are “enticing” and have an “alluring shape, and make the observer yearn to uncover the secrets which lie beneath them (Ayyoub 98).”…

    • 938 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Everyone was staring and kind of freaked out and avoiding me.” Although Amal was going through injustice at school, she embarrassed the Hijab and wore it anyway. If you're getting made fun of for something you can’t control, like your religion and what the requirements are, don’t let someone make fun of you Instead, stand up for yourself and overcome the harsh words. Although you're told to take a stand for yourself, there are some times when taking a stand is not appropriate. An example of when you shouldn’t take a stand is if you get arrested and you try to defend yourself, it could get worse than it was to start.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Contrary to popular belief, not all Muslim women are being oppressed into fully covering their bodies. Instead, a majority of Muslim women around the world have made the decision themselves to wear a head covering or veil. The belief concerning the oppression of Muslim women has resulted from the negative connotation of head coverings associated with Islam. Many people are convinced that Islamic head coverings represent fundamentalist Islam and oppression of Muslim women. This belief is highly misinformed and untrue. Muslim women who choose to veil do so to represent their dedication to their religion. In the past there were many Middle Eastern and African countries that banned different types of headscarves for security reasons or to protect their women.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mona Eltahawy in "My Unveiling Ceremony," believes wearing a hijab (headscarf and clothing that covers the whole body except for the hands and face) is a form of oppressive behavior expected of women, and illustrates in her essay her experience with her loss of identity, resulting in her choice to stop wearing her hijab as symbol of empowerment and freedom. The following three points supports why Muslim women should not wear a hijab.…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Muslim women obviously dress very different than other Americans and their dress apparel stands out. This is one of the biggest issues and challenges that Muslim women in American face. They are taunted, and harassed every day because of the head-coverings that they wear, which is known as the “hijab”. Hijab, is Arabic for “cover”, which is extended to mean modesty and privacy. Hijab is actually a practice, but when women are practicing Hijab, is when they wear the scarf they wear. It usually covers the head, neck, and majority of the face in some situations, leaving the eyes open. Muslim women follow the rules of the Hijab, to show their submission to and love for God. However, this is all usually very misinterpreted. Women are looked down upon when they are wearing their head-coverings. Muslim women who wear head scarves are more likely than those who don’t to say they face discrimination and a hostile environment. Sixty-nine percent of women who wear hijab reported at least one incident of discrimination compared to 29% of women who did not wear the hijab. Muslim women have been prohibited from wearing their head-coverings in a number of contexts. These women have been…

    • 3795 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Negative Liberty In Canada

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages

    This initially sparked controversy when there was a flurry of reaction to Stephen Harper's remarks on Twitter. The most popular Islamic clothing is a hijab that covers the head-and-shoulders; piece of cloth that covers the face, and the niqab that covers the entire face with the exception of few countries like Saudi Arabia where it is the law to wear the niqab. However, it is entirely up to Muslim women whether they choose to wear it or not. This situation is best described according to Isaiah Berlin’s “two concepts of liberty” (Swift 2014, 58-60).…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Whereas Satrapi depicts in her graphic novel a picture of a ten year old forced to wear a veil because of the Islamic Revolution, “ We didn’t really like the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had to”(3) explaining further the complexities surrounding the veil. She says some religious fundamentalist feels that hiding hair could keep…

    • 958 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hijab

    • 1225 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The decision was to wear hijab (he-jab), which means scarf or head covering. Wearing hijab is a requirement for all Muslim women because it promotes modesty and encourages people to respect a woman for her mind, not her physical appearance. Not many Muslim women in the U.S. wear hijab. In fact, the number of young Muslim girls in my community wearing hijab five years ago, when I began thinking about hijab, was very small. At the time, I only knew one girl my age that wore hijab.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Seriously??!! You’re living in the West!!!” (p. 40). Again, some men ask: “You are living in the West- what’s with the hijab?” Then Sofia says: “Honestly, I can’t like God. Life is so much harder without God, you know?” (p. 43). It is obvious that ‘wearing hijab is a perpetual punishment’ for her and she has to struggle a lot in living in the West as a true Muslim woman as she tells: “From a marketing angle…. No one wants a scarfie in the workplace” (p. 31). But ‘hijab’ has always been a religious reminder for her to keep her away from any odd acts even from hugging any man or shaking hands with them and more. She wears hijab not to maintain the Muslim dress code only rather her feelings come forth from the fear of God, from her faith in Islam. Hijab is the strength of Sofia to protest any disregards. Once Naim asks if she really writing a book or doing other business in the name of the survey for writing; Sofea was quite angry and answered with full confidence on her modesty that ‘Of course I’m writing a book. Hijabies don’t lie” (p. 70). To her hijab must be respected as well as the hijabi. She met the flatterer Naim, whom she started to like, but something stopped her to trust him too. Once Naim offered her to have sex even for once only. She answered: “Next time you say something like that, you are going to get punched in the face…… You need lessons on how to speak to a hijabi”…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hijabista

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What is the definition of hijab to you? For some antiquated people, they defined hijab as something that is complicated because it is restricted to our religion. But this is not the definition for some million women out there who find hijab as a wonderful thing. They look hijab at a view where it is about covering the whole body except your face and hand or in other words it is about covering our aurat and also protecting our pride. During the old days, people tend to treat those women wearing hijab way to different than how it is now. Nowadays, our society has changed their perspective towards woman who wears hijab because of their ability to present their self to the world. But how they could possibly do that? These women who wear hijab present themselves over fashion, through their career and social life.…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays