بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
اسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
I went out today with my mother-in-law. I wore my favourite tailor-made modern abaya. It was decent. Loose-fitting and modest. The material does not clung to anywhere unwanted. It has been my favourite for years for a reason. But honestly, it became so because of the tremendous weight I had lost. One of the reason I wanted to lose weight so bad, and be skinny or lean for is to practice covering up with ease. It worked.
When I was buying some fruits, my hand was full with stuff. I had half a melon on my left and food on my right. I had to reach for my purse to pay. The boy who worked there, kindly offered me to put the melon in a bag. What astonished me was, how he carefully put his fingers around the plastic bag handles so it does not make any contact with my skin. When I paid, he handed the change in a respectful manner. He kindly put the change on top of the counter and said 'I'm sorry it may seem rude, but it's the only way'. By any means, I was not even offended by an ounce. I'm actually impressed. Next, we went and ate some ice-cream. Same thing happen, the boy handed my my ice-cream cup carefully without touching my skin and the change. He even pronounced salaam when I leave the store.
This was very much different from what I experienced few days back. I wasn't necessarily dressed in abayas all the time. I had some jeans on, a dress and covered it with a cardigan. It was still loose, but how loose can a pair of jeans be honestly? So I went out to find some work pants for the husband and some books. But I noticed that the respect I received from male workers weren't there. They simply just hand my change with lack of effort to avoid skin contact. I was upset. It was a particularly busy lunch hour and I had noticed some ogling eyes as if I was naked. It's not only that I feel terribly disrespect but, I feel naked too. When in fact, I was fully-clothed. I feel ashamed.
It had me thinking, how our apparel choices could influence someone by that much. When I really put in an effort to cover up, I noticed how my surrounding changes. Women gazed upon me with distaste, but men, they avoid. When they do really have to speak with you, it was filled with so much respect that you felt incredibly superior. I feel safe. I feel protected. I feel dignified and liberated.
So, in our preparation for the new year's aims and goals, let's put covering up as one of the top list shall we?
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