gehenam:

Hijab- Fun Facts for those who don’t know how to create/write hijabi characters

From your local ex-hijabi and someone who lived in a country that enforced mandatory hijab.

1. Hijab is not just necessary for a woman. Hijab also includes men, who have to wear modest clothing, cover their arms, and grow a beard.

2. No one wears their hijab when they get inside the privacy of their home. Wearing hijab, especially if you wear it tight or its really hot out, can get uncomfortable so often times I would just whip it off.

3. We don’t wake up and put the hijab on, it’s only to be worn around men who are not close-relatives (husband and son) or children. Some people don’t follow this to a T and that’s ok.

5. Being a hijabi doesn’t mean you understand the dynamics and philosophy of islam. It just means you want to wear the hijab and took that step. Hijabs dont make you Holier Than Thou.

4. Hijab is not only a headscarf, but it’s literally a dresscode. You can’t wear a hijab with short shorts and your whole tit hanging out. You need to cover up to your wrists, ankles and neck area— clothes should be baggy and not tight. Once again, some people don’t follow this to a T, that’s fine.

4.5. Hijabs are suppose to cover the ears, hair, and neck.

6. “Can I draw this character without their hijab in the privacy of their own home?” Yeah it’s fine, no one wears hijab in their house unless they have guests.

7. Hijab means different things for different people. They can mean security, they can be a means of achieving confidence. They can also have absolutely No Reason for wearing the hijab besides that they want to.

8. At the end of the day Hijabis are still human beings, and often times they’re treated like aliens and it’s not okay. They’re a human who is wearing a headscarf for religious reasons. There’s nothing “exotic, ethnic” or “mysterious” about that. It’s like considering anyone who wears a hat to be some weird foreign creature.

There’s a bunch of other things but stop treating the hijab as a personality trait for your muslim characters. Hijab has nothing to do with your personality, at all, ever. I’ve seen timid hijabis. I’ve seen hijabis who were starting fights with authority (I being one myself). I’ve seen hijabis skateboarding, drinking, smoking, because guess what; it doesn’t define who we are.