The most concerning issue I see here is that the doorknob still has not been fixed yet. However I can tell some serious thought was put into titling this beautiful article.

Love the attitude that you and your daughter have about the hijab. It is extremely important to truly understand the essence of wearing the hijab and if you’re not ready, no imam, parent, or friend should ever force you to wear it.
I was forced to wear the hijab as a child. By the time I got to college, I took it off because I didn’t know why I wore it. After understanding the meaning of hijab, I started wearing it again and insha allah I never plan to take it off.

Jazak Allahu Khair for this article. It speaks volumes to the struggles that youth and even young adults are facing. I went through a very similar experience when I was in high school ad college.
A couple of months ago, I volunteered at my local masjid. However, the attitude and hierarchy pushed me further and further away from the masjid. The sheikh called me disrespectful because I called him out when he was yelling and behaving rudely with another volunteer. Also, the sheikh would always talk about how Muslim women are destined for hell fire if they do not wear the hijab. That made me even more uncomfortable to come to the masjid.
Things like this really do push people away from masajid and makes one question Islam since sheikhs and imams are supposed to be the role models of the community. And just to clarify that I am not saying this about all imams or sheikhs :)!
I am glad that people are shedding a light on this topic and I hope insha allah we can be more empathetic and kind towards everyone, including the not ‘so perfect Muslim’ in our communities.

salam,

had the same problem when i first put on the ‘hijab’. wasnt really ready n didnt quite understand the need for it. there was a point when i decided to take them off after many years of observing the ‘hijab’ for fear of my parents. now that i begun to understand the beauty of it, i totally like being veiled and dressing modestly to please Allah and nothing else.

Timely article. My daughter runs into this frequently. She does not wear hijab and gets flak for it, both verbally and in those unequivocal judgmental stares.

She’s a great student, an athlete, compassionate and always clearly identifies as Muslim. Many people are taken aback when she offers salaams and they note the ‘lack of’ hijab. Acquaintances think this is incredibly odd given that I observe hijab and do so in an extremely difficult professional setting.

I support her decision, whether to wear hijab or not wear it. As she says, “the day I put it on, I never want to take it off, I want to be really ready.”

Read “The Search for Beauty in Islam: A Conference of the Books” by Dr/Shaykh Khaled Abou El Fadl.

such a shame…