Site MapHelpFeedbackAnother Point of View
Another Point of View
(See related pages)

In this excerpt the importance of a single piece of clothing, the hijab, is described by Maryam Qudrat Aseel—a first-generation Afghan American girl, born and raised in Los Angeles—in her book Torn Between Two Cultures. The hijab is a simple head scarf—a small piece of fabric—for the hair, and it is "one element of being a true Muslim, and specifically a true Muslim woman" (p. 78). When Aseel wore the Muslim woman's head scarf, people automatically assumed she was some sort of fundamentalist, a terrorist, or a zealot preaching religion (p. 83). It is hard to believe how important a single nonverbal element could be, but here Aseel describes it:

On the day of my high school graduation, after three years of being looked upon as an outcast and deviant by both American and Afghan societies, I finally took off my hijab, which had caused so much contempt. I simply couldn't handle the scrutiny of my personal life. Even more ridiculous than being treated as a lesser human being because of my physical traits [deep tan skin, bold green eyes, full lips, and strong bone structure] I was being treated that way because of my clothes. And people had somehow assigned me the position of representing the entire religion of Islam. If I were to do one thing wrong or make one human mistake, I would not pay for it alone—so would Islam. If I so much as wore some lip gloss, I would be met with the attitude of "See, and she is supposed to be so religious—they're all just a bunch of hypocrites."

Source: From Torn Between Two Cultures: An Afghan-American Woman Speaks Out (p. 82), by Maryam Qudrat Aseel, 2003, Sterling, VA: Capital Books.

1
Do you expect a person who wears the symbol or uniform of a particular group to represent every other member of that group? Why or why not?
2
Do you expect a leader like a teacher, principal, or guidance counselor to follow a special code of conduct? Why or why not? Can you think of others expected to follow specific codes of conduct?
3
Have you been stereotyped by others because of your appearance or clothes? Do you think these stereotypes are fair? Why or why not?







Communicating EffectivelyOnline Learning Center

Home > Chapter 6 > Another Point of View