WELL, I am new to my self-chosen hijab world but I can feel the problems hijabi girls go through every day. These five months are enough to teach me that the corporate world is really offensive to hijabi girls.

Let me share with you some examples. One of my friends pursuing chartered accountancy was not selected in one of the big four firms just for covering her head and her face.

The other example is my personal experience when I was interviewed by a Pakistani who asked me, “Will you continue to cover your face if you were selected?” Was this a reasonable question to ask of a girl? Obviously not. To my surprise, my selection depends on keeping my face uncovered.

Another example that left me disheartened was when one of my friends, a chartered certified accountant, was being rejected by telecommunication companies, and the reason was her veil.

Asking a girl to unveil herself is not a condition for her successful professional career; it is a disrespect to her moral values.

Being a Muslim and living in Muslim countries like Pakistan, UAE, Turkey etc. while still complaining about veil and hijab is shocking.

I know of a few critics who argue that if a girl is hijabi and wishes to continue hijab according to Islamic teaching, she should also obey the purported Islamic teaching that earning is men’s responsibility not women’s. Although correct, this appears to be like asking a person to either offer prayer five times a day or not offer at all.

In the end I would quote Mother Teresa: “Do good, give the best you have and it may never be enough; give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it’s between you and God. It’s never between you and them anyway.”

Sidra Khan

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn October 27th, 2016