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This is Nika.
Nika is a regular Canadian student who is studying at the University of Ottawa.
Nika has no Middle Eastern or Muslim background
and is not affiliated with a nation of Islam.
However, she does have experience with the sting
that comes along with wearing what is deemed unusual attire for Canadian society.
Nika recently underwent a life-changing journey when she made the difficult decision to wear a niqab
for a period of time in order to support her Muslim friend
who is struggling for acceptance as a woman who chooses to cover her face.
Her friend has endured many injustices because of her style of dress,
and so Nika has decided to wear the niqab and walk side-by-side with her friend.
Come along as we follow Nika on this heart-warming journey under the veil.
It was kind of a strange idea and it was a really interesting experience.
But, when I told her --
I asked her,
"So, Maha, what would you think about me going out with you all dressed up like a Saudi woman?"
She was like, "Really? Really?"
When you have your face covered, people don't want to look at you.
You know, it's the weirdest thing because you kind of stand out like a sore thumb,
but, at the same time, you're completely invisible.
So, I know when Canadians see a woman with her face covered,
a lot of the time they're thinking,
"she's really extreme", "she's from a crazy religion",
maybe that she's even a terrorist.
And, if not that, they're probably thinking that she is some poor Muslim woman who is oppressed
and who has no choice but to cover her face and is controlled by the men of her family and her husband.
But that's not always the case.
My friend, Maha, covers her face because she believes in it.
Her family has told her that if she feels that it's too difficult for her
here in Canada to cover her face that she should uncover it.
They support her either way.
In Islam, there is a high emphasis on placed on modesty.
Most Muslim scholars believe that the covering of the hair is mandatory.
However, it should never be forced. A woman has to make that decision on her own.
Some women go further than that and choose themselves to cover their faces.
To learn more, we spoke to the Human Rights Coordinator from "CAIR.CAN".
So my name is Amira Elghawaby and I'm the Human Rights Coordinator her at "CAIR.CAN".
which is the "Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations".
We are a non-profit grassroots organization that does human rights work around issues affecting Canadian Muslims.
So, whether it's through media engagement, through anti-discrimination cases that come to us,
whether it's through political engagement, we try raise issues that affect Canadian Muslims
and make sure that people understand their rights and responsibilities, and that those rights and responsibilities are respected.
Well, I think it's quite remarkable that this young Muslim woman's friend who does not practice Islam
has decided to wear the niqab and hijab as a sign of solidarity for her friend
so that she doesn't feel perhaps ridiculed or ostracized in the community.
So, I think that that young lady who has decided to do that
shows a lot of compassion and sympathy for her friend -- which is really quite commendable and remarkable.
So, I applaud that young lady for doing that.
The decision to cover one's face out of a religious duty is a very difficult decision, I think.
In Canada, obviously, the majority of women don't cover their hair
and a very, very few women decide to wear the niqab
if they truly believe that it's a part of their faith.
So, it's a difficult decision and obviously people are not necessarily comfortable with it.
Even though it's not part of my believe system, it's not part of my religion,
I'm going to support her to do what she feels like she should.
She feels really strong about it.
But, you know what the thing is? She doesn't even judge other people.
She is not hurting anyone else by covering her own face.
If you see a woman with her face covered,
you shouldn't automatically assume,
you shouldn't automatically think that you know her situation,
that you know what she's like.
Well, I think -- so, if I were to come across this young Christian lady wearing hijab and niqab,
of course, my first assumption will be that she is a Muslim.
It would never cross my mind that she is not a Muslim.
If you see me in a mall with my face covered
and you start judging me based on me being an extreme Muslim,
you're going to be way off! I'm not even Muslim!
Why not just go up a woman and ask her what it's all about. Talk to her.
You're going to find out that she's a human being, she's a lot like we are here.
She just has her face covered. She might have an accent.
But, she has the same desire that we have here.
She wants to be accepted and she wants to fit in and she wants to be about to make friends.
And the biggest problem for my friends who have their face covered is just to connect with Canadians.
Why are we making it so hard for them?
When we look at a woman with her face covered we assume that she's isolated,
she can't connect with people, and she's far away from other people in society.
We assume that. And, the thing is, sometimes, we are the ones that are making that happen.
If we treated them just like we treated other women
and were kind to them and we were friendly and we talked to them,
they wouldn't feel isolated anymore. They would just be women with their faces covered.
Who would choose to put themselves through that? It's a very difficult decision.
I myself tried it just to see what it would be like for one afternoon,
and I didn't last for five minutes just because of the looks that people were giving me.
And I, myself, am a very friendly person. I want to connect with people.
And, I found wearing the niqab was a very -- I personally didn't enjoy it.
I found that it sort of made me feel very separate from society.
People looked at me with suspicion and they clearly weren't comfortable with me.
And so I couldn't smile, I couldn't show them that I'm perfectly safe, I'm perfectly harmless.
So, for myself, I find it to be a very difficult decision to make.
So, I would never assume that someone is going to make that choice to wear that
without any religious conviction -- that they're just doing it out of sympathy.
I think that that young woman is showing remarkable care for her friend.
She just looked up at me and she said:
"Nika, when I'm walking beside you, I feel strong."
So, if Nika was sitting with me right now, I would just like to congratulate her
because I think that her decision to cover her face and wear the hijab
shows that she is very open-minded.
She's not trying to judge or change her friend. She is not Muslim.
However, Nika believes that she wants to support her friend.
And I believe all of the faiths -- whether it's Christianity, Islam, or even humanists or atheists --
I think everyone at the bottom of their heart knows that treating each other with respect and dignity
is what humanity should be all about.
So, I think that Nika is an example for all of us that --
even myself, I may want to change others, but it shouldn't be about that.
It should be about supporting others and their decisions
and showing them that we're going to be there for them and that we want to make them feel better.
So, I really commend her and I hope that we can all be like that.
After all, here in Ottawa it is legal to cover your face in public.
It's not against any law -- it's just against our societal norms.
We see a woman and we misjudge her
and we think all kinds of crazy things without even talking to her
and we just put up a big wall in front of us and block her out with no reason.
A lot of these women are just dying to meet Canadians and dying to have friends here --
and we just shut them out.
At this time, due to the emotional nature of the topic,
Nika requested we stop the interview.
Can you just stop for a second, please?
Yeah.
What do you think? Could you do it?