Several Muslim women took to Whisper, an app that allows people to secretly admit to things they’d never dare say in public, to reveal their true feelings about wearing hijab and the negative attention they receive.
Many women who wear the hijab complained that the sight of the headscarf invited negative comments from strangers while one woman confessed that men have even called her ‘sexy’.
“I hate when guys tell me my hijab is sexy and leaves more to the imagination. I’m wearing my hijab for God, not for you.”
Some women recalled their experiences of walking down the street wearing a headscarf and being labelled a terrorist. One woman even said once someone threw a stone at her.
PHOTO: WHISPER
One woman revealed that while wearing the headscarf she felt “more confident and prettie”’, although another said she felt guys did not give her a “second look because of hijab.”
Other women confessed to sometimes not wearing their hijab. One woman posted, “I secretly share pics of me not wearing my hijab on the internet.”
PHOTO: WHISPER
Another woman said she sometimes took off her hijab to go out with friends but that some of them were ‘totally against’ her doing it. ”I work so hard to remind people I’m a normal human being. They only see the hijab,” wrote one confessor who felt her scarf was a barrier for her.
PHOTO: WHISPER
Several women confessed that they were pressurised into covering their heads. One said she did it to “keep her husband happy” and another revealed that she risked losing her family if she removed her scarf.
While another confessed, “Wearing a hijab makes me feel safe. I feel like my hijab is protecting me from all of the bad than can come from the outside world.” And yet another wrote, “I have nothing against women who choose not to cover. I made a choice with my body and so did they, we should both be respected for it.”
