Asalamualiekum waramatullahi wabarakatuhu. My name is Aisha
Yusuff Eniola. I'm a student of the federal university of Agriculture Abeokuta.
I study biochemistry there and I'm in my 3rd year Alhamdulilah. I am a native
of Ibadan, Oyo State but I stay in Sango Ota, Ogun State.
Hijab Story
I wouldn't really say
I have an Hijab story per say but obviously it would have started from
somewhere. I come from a home were my dad was the staunchest practicing Muslim
but he was rarely at home due to the location of his work place. He tried as
much as possible to instill his knowledge of deen in us because I guess he
found the sweetness of faith. My mum was the 'you must observe fajr but I'm not
concerned about other solah' type so solah wasn't really a problem for me. My
dad made it a rule that we cannot leave the house without our hair being
covered though he didn't state how to. So I've been covering my hair for a long
time but I didn't start observing Hijab properly till my first year at the university ( when I say properly,i mean
covering the key places).
I attended a public school for the first three years of my
secondary school education before transferring to a school that allowed the use
of hijab as part of the uniform. That further aided my transmission. When I got
to pre degree school , I saw different varieties of Hijab and got initiated
into the sisterhood that the hijab brings. Up until now, I cannot bring myself
to see anything wrong with the way any Hijabi dresses so far it's following the
set rules. They all just fascinate me.
In 100level, I decided to start covering everything
excluding my hands, face and feet. My first challenge was finding clothes that
would portray my sense of style and still conform. With my deen and that was so
difficult. So for my first year, I tried to incorporate things I had into showing
my personality. It was in there I got to know that people actually judge Hijabis
because of their Hijab. It was surprising for me as I just couldn't find anything
wrong with that mode of dressing and of course I also got to know that even
among we Hijabis, there was discrimination and shunning. It was surprising as
all I got to know in pre degree school was the love and similarity among all Hijabis
so I decided to keep my ideology. I'd embrace every type of sisters I meet,
hijabis, jilbabis, non hijabis, hipster hijabis, any just because I didn't want
to taint my ideology of love and peace. By the end of 100 levels, I got to know
other sisters who were going through the struggles of finding clothes to
portray their fashion styles. That's how I got to find out about people who
learnt the art of sewing just to help hijabis and where some people got their
stuffs.
As a student who isn't an entrepreneur, I don't have any
other source of income except my parents so I do get long sleeve tops and maxi
gowns of high quality from markets like the one called 'katangua a.k.a super
market'. Now, when I get enough to patronise sisters who own online stores, I
do but when I don't, I opt for shopping at that market just because I can get
them at prices that suit my budget. Sometimes, my mum might travel and get me
nice stuff or I buy some scarves, bags and shoe from her as she sells wears.
Most of my shoes I get from pep store in my area. My scarves I get from
different places and even an online store on IG called @hijabsnigeria. I
recently started learning the art of making outfits so I make some outfits
myself too.
Another problem I
face is the bigotry in school and the autnomatic stereotype that just cos
you're Hijabi, you must be perfect or you're oppressed or you're dumb and not
outspoken and docile, people with different stereotype. I'm what you might call
an advocate of women, I love wonder woman, tomb raider, nikita, black widow,
lots of animation super heros that are women just because I believe our gender
is not auntomatic failure so I tend to get tired defending the fact that we
Muslim women, hijabi or not, are more than the basket they've put us all into.
Look 1: I made the outfit myself. My mum got the fabric at
yaba(Lagos Nigeria) I think and it was a bit difficult to sew for a learner
like me because it was all shifty and stuff. I paired it with a scarf from an
Abaya and because it was cold that day, I used a thick scarf around my neck and
I wore a pair of vans
Look2: I went to my uncle's wedding. Scarf was bought in one
of those markets in lagos. It's a typical scarf that our mums will wear, I took
my mum's, hehe. The clutch, i also bought from my mum and shoe is from pep
store. i got it for less than 2k
Look 3: I had an exam that day and it was a Saturday but I
didn't wanna look too casual or too dressed up so I paired that skirt, my
sister made it, with a long sleeve top I got from one of my sprees at super
market and also a waist coat I got from a friend . I wore a plimsoll that I got
from pep, for 2k. Scarf is an Abaya scarf
Look4: it was a Jumuah in school and I didn't wanna put on
Abaya or native so I wore this gown, I got from a friend that sell stuffs in
school, for just 1k. The top was the same one I wore in look 3, scarf from one
of those market in Lagos, 1k. Shoe is vans
Look 5: this is the cooperate look! Yaay! I've had that
blazer forever and it took me time to find it again. My sister made the skirt,
also maxi, I wore an off white tank top, scarf is an Abaya scarf. Shoe is vans
(I love sneakers, I guess that ruled it out for cooperate)
Look 6: This was one of my lazy days. School bag was bought
in Sango. Skirt and top, I got from my friend that sells stuff in school for
nothing over 2k and shoe from pep store in Sango. Scarf is an Abaya scarf
Look 7: It's the same skirt from look 5 but paired with a
grey top I bought from a friend, a red pashmina,a bag I got from our local
market in Abeokuta, a shoe I got as a gift. I was wearing that wrist watch/
bracelet for effect.
Look 8: This is another lazy day look. Actually, I had an
hijabi around my area make the skirt and hijab for me, I spent about 1k only
but I guess I grew around my lower body so it got a bit fitted so I wore tops
that cover my butt and hijabs like this that are already sown to divert attention from where I
definitely don't need it. I was carrying a cross bag my mum got for me and I
was putting on a slipper there.
I hope I've helped my fellow sisters and I love you all for
the sake of Allah. In sha Allah, you can go through IG and I guarantee you'd see hijabis that
make nice things here in Nigeria at affordable prices but you can definitely
check locations that I stated, If you like. Masalam
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