A Letter to Society From a Muslim Woman
Oppression. A word that describes us Muslim women. It overshadows our credentials; it takes away our voices before we even have the opportunity to say anything. Everyone has an opinion about us. Their eyes act as a mirror to what they truly believe, and their actions mimic their viewpoint about what it's like to be us. I will tell you what it's like to be a Muslim woman in today's society. It is a paradoxical experience. Our stories are told on our behalf without consent. Our value diminishes like a blank page. Our choice is disregarded because God forbid a Muslim woman has autonomy over her own life, choices, and body. As if our existence belongs... no, should belong to anyone but us.
Freedom. This is how I describe what it's like to be a Muslim woman. Freedom to choose and stay committed to who we are. It's having the ability to hold our heads high no matter what room we walk into. It's knocking down doors that have been shut in our faces for decades. It's raising our voices in an environment that shouts for us to keep quiet. Being a Muslim woman is to boldly declare to the world who we are, seeking validation from God and within ourselves. Being a Muslim woman is to be okay with being misunderstood. There is beauty hidden within our experiences. Maybe we were meant to be a walking contradiction, to balance the strength within ourselves and the struggle society seeks to impose on us, between having full autonomy and hearing the voices of those who claim we don't have it, between the smile we showcase in public and the tears we shed on the prayer mat. It's the dissonance of walking with a straight back while carrying the heavy mountain of expectations placed on us. It's the discrepancy of having a peaceful heart in a world echoing with chaos. It is the fight to assert tirelessly that our decisions are our own choices, not oppression, yet hearing the whisper, "that can't be true, you are oppressed."
I wonder why society fights for women to have rights over their lives but shuns them when they do act in accordance with that. The women's empowerment movement can sometimes feel like an exclusive club. Only certain women fit the beauty standards, women of certain races, ethnicities, religions; only women who look, think, act, dress a certain way can get in. The movement dissects, criticizes, and compares women. As a result, some people walk with that viewpoint in mind, judging women on whether they fit the categories of what it means to embody "women empowerment." We, as a society, have forgotten that it's a movement encouraging women from all walks of life to take opportunities and resources and tap into our power to make our own choices and have control of our lives.
Thus, if you see a Muslim woman, whether she wears the hijab or not, it is her choice. Whether she refrains from certain behaviors or not is within her power. Whether she speaks boldly or softly about her religion comes from within her. Most importantly, know that being a Muslim woman means embodying resilience and commitment in a world that claims she has none.
