What's that on your head?

Written by: Areej Tayem

It was a typical winter morning in Canada, as I stood with my two sons, Zineddin and Mustafa, at the bus stop waiting for their school bus to arrive. 

The snow had been piling up for months since the beginning of winter. 

So, Mustafa and Zineddin love to go out of the house early to climb the snow mountain that grows bigger and bigger every day due to snowplows dumping snow at the side of the road.

Along the way to the bus stop, they enjoy their daily snowy adventure, where they often encounter Alice and Leslie, two girls who also wait for the bus, who would join in on the fun and play in the snow until the bus arrives.

On this particular day, the bus was running late, and the kids were getting restless. They had exhausted their usual snow games and were looking for something new to do.

Alice stood next to her mom and observed me with her  curious blue eyes as if she sees me for the first time and said: "Can I ask you a question?"

I smiled and replied, "Sure, go ahead!"

She pointed to my head and asked:

"What's that on your head?"

I reached up and felt the silky soft pink hijab that I was wearing. "Oh, this is a hijab. Muslim women wear it to cover their hair", I explained.

Alice looked puzzled, “Why?” she exclaimed. “Why would you want to cover your hair?” she continued. 

Zineddin, Mustafa, and Leslie were also curious, they stopped playing, and became more attentive to my words.

"Well, Muslim women wear a hijab because it's a part of our religion to dress modestly and be humble. Different people in the world have different ways of dressing and doing things, and the hijab is important to many Muslim women. It's kind of like how you might wear a hat or a scarf to keep your head warm in the winter, but for me, I wear a hijab to cover and protect my hair", I  explained.