“I was always told to do this or that, but I was never told why and ironically I never even asked.” This seems to be the major problem in our culturally dominated, Islamically deprived societies, where many a time we are victims of blind following without even asking ourselves, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?”

From My Sisters’ Lips by Na’ima B. Robert is one of my favourite books. It’s a book that I can very much relate to and one that I often read despite the amount of times I’ve read it. One term that Na’ima coined in this book was “NMT New Muslim Tramp Syndrome.”

Every sister I met during the course was amazing and utterly beautiful, even in the long jilbabs and soft pashmina hijabs. Every single girl there was my sister. And I loved her regardless of her skin colour, dedication to Islam or whether she wore Hijab properly or not. I prayed for her.

Hair needs to be either dead straight or entwined in Goldilocks curls. Anything in between is a no-no. Waves signify complacency and let’s not even get started on the frizz.

Some easily forget that hijab is not defined by a cloth around your head, but rather your entire attire and even your behavior.