Several dozen staff members at Richards High School in Oak Lawn donned a hijab for a day last week, making a lasting impression on students and teachers alike.
The school was celebrating World Hijab Day, and the women who wore the headscarf and men who placed it over their shoulders were showing support for Muslims. The school has many students and about a dozen teachers and an administrator who are Muslim. Several who regularly wear the headscarf said it shows their pride in being Muslim, along with their modesty, an inherent part of Islam.
World Hijab Day, which is marked Feb. 1, was started in 2013 by Nazma Khan, a woman who moved from Bangladesh to New York when she was 11.
“We have such a diverse population at Richards and I just feel like as a teacher teaching all these diverse kids, I try my best to make them all feel safe and welcome and to show I accept them as a teacher,” said Allison Williams, a health teacher, who has coordinated the event there for several years.
Williams said the day was meant to not only help Muslim students feel they belong but also show staff what it was like to face discrimination.
“I think people maybe don’t realize how some discrimination can happen,” she said. “When I first did this and wore the hijab all day long, I felt I got some weird looks.”
It’s a way, she said, to “practice walking in the shoes of my brothers and sisters and everyone around.”
Amal Odeh, a senior who started wearing the hijab several years ago, said she was touched by the gesture.
“When she (Williams) informed me of them doing the event, I felt like they were cheering me on and making me feel like I was welcomed,” Amal said. “Even if only a few do it, it means a lot to us.”
Amal said the gesture also made her feel more comfortable wearing the hijab. Though she said the school population is generally accepting of differences, there’s a minority whose looks and comments can sometimes be hurtful.
For example, a good friend of Amal is accepting of her culture and religion but one of his friends one day said, “She’s going to bomb your house one day,” implying all Muslims are terrorists. “I just start laughing,” she said. “Are you this ignorant, brainwashed by the media?
“God has asked you to do this … that’s the most important thing I’m happy because I’m doing something the Lord has asked me to do.”
Esraa Odeh, Amal’s sister who is a junior, said contrary to what some people think, the head covering is a source of pride and not oppression.
“When I wear my hijab, I feel empowered, I feel confident. I know why I’m putting this on and it’s for my God,” she said. “That’s what makes me a Muslim woman who is faithful and doesn’t lie, doesn’t steal and is true to her religion.”
Esraa, like her sister, has learned to shrug off some of the ignorance and prejudice she experiences, though it can still irk her. Both sisters said classroom discussions of the terror attacks of Sept. 11 can be difficult when they feel like some students glare at them.
Esraa said the school’s observance of World Hijab Day, on the other hand, meant a lot to her, even if she wished there could be more open discussion on the subject.
“It was heartwarming,” said Esraa. “I was like, oh my god, that’s so nice of you.”
Even non-Muslim students said they were encouraged.
“It was amazing seeing other teachers embrace a difference culture besides their own and spread awareness on wearing a hijab,” said Nina Mitre, a senior.
For teacher Rahaf Othman, who helped organize the event and already wears a hijab, the day also had a personal meaning.
“We live in a country where Islam is frowned upon and there are a lot of negative connotations attached to it, even though all of them are unwarranted,” said Othman. “It feels like I’m being acknowledged, like they are saying, we hear you, we see you, we acknowledge you,” said Othman, who teaches social studies.
Othman said that support was especially important for students.
“I can only imagine how the students feel when they see it,” Othman said. “It must feel a lot more empowering for them, feeling that their teachers know who they are.”
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
