Huda Khalid was walking through the Rice University campus one night last year when she heard someone in a car scream, “Jihad!”
The 21-year-old student didn’t let the heckler upset her, knowing she was targeted because of her hijab.
“It’s all about God, so you don’t let those things get to you,” said Wardah Khalid, 24, who remembers laughing with her younger sister about the encounter.
Muslim women wear the scarf or cloth wrapping over their hair to be closer to God and to obey the Quran, Wardah said. The Arabic word translates into “modesty.”
The hijab — mandated only when a woman is in the company of unrelated males - made news recently because the French government banned the covering, deeming it oppressive.
3 sisters
Still, some Houston Muslims say they plan to continue wearing the head covering, especially as Ramadan, the most important month in the Islamic calendar, begins this week.
“First and foremost, we believe God wants Muslim women to wear it,” Wardah Khalid said. “We do it because God wants us to.”
The Khalid sisters - Wardah, Huda and 19-year-old Thuba, all began wearing hijabs last summer.
“The fear of it was so much worse than what actually happened,” said Wardah, a graduate of Texas A&M University. “I thought I would be harassed, but that hasn’t happened. I feel really comfortable with it, and I’m glad I made the decision.”
The sisters relied on each other as they began the new time in their lives.
“They have been a support system, and we can talk about what happens,” Wardah said.
Rezwana Zahir of Tomball, 22, did not have the same support when she began wearing a hijab her freshman year of college.
So, to adjust, she began in phases.
“I guess you could say I was a part-time hijabee for a while,” Zahir said. “It was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.”
Zahir would wear the hijab around her Muslim friends, but she initially left it at home for trips to the grocery store.
“At first I thought, ‘If I wear it, people will stare at me in a negative way because it’s not normal,’ ” Zahir said. “It was definitely a bit shocking.”
Many Muslim women fear wearing hijabs because of how they expect society to respond, Wardah said.
“The obvious stereotype is, ‘This is a person that is Muslim, and she obviously is a terrorist because she wears a hijab,’ ” Wardah said. “Another is, ‘She’s oppressed because her husband, father, brother, whoever makes her wear it.’ ”
She said a Muslim woman who wears a hijab on her own accord would not consider it oppressive.
Zahir often feels that she’s being stared at when driving or walking around town. She counters condemning glances with smiles.
A smile helps
“When you smile back at them, people don’t usually take it as a terroristic act,” Zahir said.
On the whole, their fear of insults and discrimination has not panned out.
“It has actually been the opposite,” Wardah said. “I’ll be walking down the street and someone will say, ‘As-Salamu Alaykum.’ That’s the Muslim greeting of ‘peace be upon you.’ ”
The Khalid sisters have hijabs of many different colors and patterns, so the sisters could match when they go out.
“You kind of have to coordinate your outfits better to make sure it all matches,” Wardah said. “I pay more attention to what I’m wearing now because I have to match with my hijab.”
Zahir received many compliments when she announced her intention to begin wearing a hijab on Facebook.
“They said ‘Your face is glowing,’ or ‘You’re so beautiful and very modest,’ ” Zahir said. “It was nice, but it made me wonder if my hair is that bad.”
The compliments were secondary for Zahir.
“I became stronger as a person because I’m representing a part of myself,” she said.
Wardah’s mother was her example, and one she hopes to emulate someday.
“She showed you can be a successful woman and wear the hijab in America,” Wardah said. “I want to show my daughters someday that you can be a strong woman and still wear it.”