I appear little more than a silhouette to most.
Source/Credit: The Express Tribune | Blog
By Jusra Mujib | September 20, 2011
“Excuse me … I’m almost afraid to ask this, but I have never seen anyone like you before. May I please take a picture?”
Summer hat, sea blue shirt with khaki shorts revealing legs tanned, the right shade of cocoa-brown – how could I say no to this guy? So I pose next to a palm tree and say:
“I have my best smile on but I bet your photography can’t do any justice to it.”
As he manages a nervous giggle, I can almost hear his thoughts:
“Crazy woman with a strange sense of humour.”
That was justified, of course, considering the fact that he couldn’t see my glowing expression. With a jet black veil covering my face and the rest of my body, I appear little more than a silhouette to most. A single window for the eyes and an accompanying voice, are added features. Now that’s worth a picture, isn’t it?
Approaching a cross-roads, this article can go in two different directions from this point; I could begin explaining my choice to wear the face-veil due to the Islamic beliefs that come with the package, or I could share contemporary experiences that come with the package, only in the 21st century. I choose to do the latter as you can find much better authorities on the former from within Muslim society.
Thanks to the millions of images emerging from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, there are only two nations people associate me with – Afghanis or Arabs. Living in Dubai more specifically, I appear to be a UAE national to many.