Infinite Ink

I wear my skirt as I like

I'm currently rocking the "dress over pants" style big time, and that's not because I'm desi and I wear traditional dress. I am actually wearing a maxi dress with loose cotton pants underneath. *checks label* Oh, it's polyester, but "polyester pants" just doesn't have the same ring to it. It doesn't end there. I'm wearing a loose shirt on top. That's not because I want to look like a cartoon but because the dress is sleeveless and doesn't go all the way down to my ankles.

I get away with this outfit because it's "relaxing at home" day. Usually I wear leggings underneath my ankle-length skirts, just in case they misbehave and because I just plain don't feel comfortable otherwise. (OK, this is getting a bit too on the personal side for me. I should steer this chapter determinedly into the public arena and leave the personal area behind.)

Ideally, I'd wear traditional desi dress at home and slap on an abaya, headscarf etc to go out, but the "burka", as my father incorrectly labels it, really freaks Baba out. I won't open that particular door today--there's a whole world of psychological mazes behind that particular door--but it really complicates my dressing. I have to match a top with a skirt, then make up for the deficiencies in both items with leggings, sleeves and what not, then comes the headscarf on top, and even there it's Complication Land. That's because the simple plain black one I love to wear is a no-no with Baba. I have to take a colored one, wrap it around my head, then make sure it stays put in front of me so that I fulfill the Quranic commandment of draping the headscarf down till the central chest bone. (In case you're wondering where that commandment is in the Quran, look it up. You should know. Hint: Surah Ahzab, Surah Noor.)

The whole purpose of this chapter is just to share my experience with those people who may be above or below me as far as the acceptability of hijab in their family goes. Some people's fathers actually pull the headscarves off their daughter's head with their own hands. I'm glad my father doesn't do that. Other fathers understand hijab. I'll keep it simple: if your daughter is lounging around the house in comfortable clothes and you tell her to step out of the house without making any changes to her appearance, and you think that's acceptable, then you don't understand hijab.

Does your family understand hijab? What do you do about it?