portraitsofboston:

“Just the other day a gentleman stopped me and asked me why I wear the hijab. He thought I was forced to wear it, or it was because of the way I was raised and—for lack of a better word—brainwashed. I explained to him that we are raised with certain values, but other than that, parents encourage their children to do their own research and find what works for them. This is my choice. My parents actually weren’t very happy with it. On the other hand, my grandmother doesn’t wear the hijab. Her daughters and granddaughters wear it.
Still, I understand why people notice it. We are very visual beings. It’s the first thing people see. But if you look at the origin of why women wear it, it’s because they’re very beautiful women. And they try to be muted and understated, and not draw attention to themselves. It’s human nature: When you have something very precious, you want to protect it. You want to cover it.
I also think it’s a shame that we tend to focus on the differences between us. There are more similarities than differences. If you look at Christianity, for instance, in every single visual representation of the Virgin Mary she is covering her head. By the way, as Muslims, we do believe in the Virgin Mary. We have a whole chapter in the Quran devoted to her and what a strong woman she was. My grandmother’s name is Mariam, which comes from Mary, and she was named after the Virgin Mary because she was born on Christmas Day.  She is Muslim, and her parents were Muslim, but that’s how much respect we have for Mary as a woman. She is actually one of my favorite historical figures. No one had to deal with more hardships than she did. I come from a long line of strong women. I look at the Virgin Mary, and she looks like me and dresses like me. I feel very inspired by her.”