3 days ago
EXCLUSIVE I'm a 16-year-old Scottish Muslim revert and wearing the niqab makes me feel empowered - it's frustrating to keep telling everyone I'm not 'oppressed'
A Scottish teenager who is Muslim, despite coming from a white, atheist family, has revealed how wearing traditional face coverings makes her feel 'really free'.
Olivia, 16, from Aberdeen, who reverted to Islam two years ago, said being covered head-to-toe, with the exception of her eyes, has helped her feel more in charge of how she presents herself to the world.
People who adopt the Islamic faith refer to themselves as reverts, as opposed to converts, because they believe they are returning to the innate faith in Allah they were born with.
The teenager is speaking out in the wake of renewed debate over wearing the burka, after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that bosses should be able to stop women from wearing face coverings in the workplace - and that she won't allow them in her constituency surgeries - while Reform MPs have become embroiled in a debate over banning the burka altogether.
Olivia has not gone as far as wearing the burka, which covers the entire face, but does wear the niqab which conceals everything except the eyes and is otherwise covered up head-to-toe - after starting out by just wearing a head scarf or hijab.
She said she has always been interested in religion despite growing up in an atheist family and while her faith journey has largely been positive and enriching, she is frustrated with how often she feels she has to prove to people she's not 'oppressed'.
'I first started just wearing the hijab when I reverted to Islam and over time and I loved how wearing it made me feel,' she told MailOnline. 'It was my own choice, and after that I decided to research the niqab.'
Several countries - including Muslim majority nations such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan - have restrictions on wearing face coverings in public buildings and schools, whereas in nations such as Afghanistan, the wearing the burqa is enforced by the Taliban.
While the principle of modesty is laid down in the Quran, what this means in practice remains the subject of debate.
Some who wear the burqa or jiqab say that wearing the garements is an act of and commitment to modesty which helps them feel closer and more devoted to God; in a similar way a Christian nun may conceal their hair or parts of their face.
However, opponents claim it is represents a domineering force in which women are made to wear to 'cover up', as instructed by fathers, brothers and husbands.
Olivia, however, stressed that assuming to know a woman's situation and beliefs just by looking at what she is wearing is 'wrong'.
'People look at it and they have these bad assumptions but if I could get to know someone, I could explain to them that it's not exactly what they think it is,' she added.
'To the people that say they find it oppressive - they're just wrong. They're assuming their views apply to everyone, that everyone that wears the niqab is oppressed.
'To call that oppression is not only wrong, but erases the voices of women like me who wear it proudly and of our own free will.
'I think real oppression is when people try to take that choice away from you, to wear the niqab, or speak over me as if I don't know my own mind. They assume I'm forced into it, but I feel really free when I wear it.'
She said that wished people were 'willing to be more open minded about things', but overall her experience in Aberdeen, which she says has a big Muslim community (some 5.4 per cent of the population identified with the faith in 2022), has been 'positive'.
'It makes you feel less alone,' she continued. 'I do get occasional stares, which I totally understand, I think it's just because people don't really understand it that much.
'But to be honest, I also feel like in some instances I've been more respected after wearing the niqab, people are a lot more respectful when they walk past me.'
She added that one reason she started sharing her experiences with wearing the niqab on TikTok - where she has more than 10,200 followers, was to show people that she's not part of a 'silenced' or oppressed group.
'I want to inspire girls who may be interested in modest clothing,' she added. 'Without preaching or forcing, of course. I just want to show how beautiful it can look.'
'The niqab doesn't restrict me,' she says in one video, set in a scenic forest. 'I still do everything I want to, just with more peace in my heart.'
In another post of herself frolicking in a stunning field, sporting a black and white niqab, she added: 'Sometimes I wonder how people can be intimidated by this.'
In the comments, some have questioned Olivia on her choices, and claimed that humans seek to connect by looking for 'facial cues' - including trolls who have left nasty messages on her page.
But Olivia has pointed out that facial cues aren't something everyone relies on, with others agreeing it's not a guarantee the other person is being honest.
Some also messaged to say that they feel 'warm' and 'safe' around women who dress modestly.
The teenager was 14 when she decided to revert to the Islamic faith, and admits that no one is her family is religious - so it took 'quite some time' for everyone to adjust.
'My younger siblings love it,' she explained. 'They always play with the fabric of my clothes, it's really cute. For my parents and the people around me, it took them quite some time to accept my choice.
'It wasn't easy. It's not easy for anyone to be honest, especially women in the UK.'
She admitted they did question her choice at the start - which she 'does understand' - but have since been accepting of her choices.
Olivia said however they are now supportive and 'do their best', especially when it comes to day to day differences, such as her not always being able to eat everything others can.
'My mum is really supportive of my choices,' she added. 'She didn't really question the niqab!'
'I do really want to emphasise that it's not the case that all of us are pressured into it,' she added. 'It's my own decision.
'I'm a revert and every step of my journey has come from deep reflection and not at all from outside pressure from anyone.
'I just think it's important to stress that Muslim women are empowered to make these decisions for ourselves.
I wasn't pressured into it, in fact I feel like I was pressuring people to accept that I want to do this, that it's my decision.
'I didn't really have much support, but I think that's what makes it more meaningful and it was a choice made out of love.'
Olivia's sentiment is one that is felt by many Muslim women who choose to wear the facial covering.
Writing in a Medium post, blogger and podcaster Samar Asamoah - who runs the podcast The Niqabi Diaries - admitted she struggled with stigmas herself.
'I had noticed and was pretty tired of seeing little to no representation of sisters who wear the niqab. To make it worse most of the time a niqabi was seen it was in a negative light. To show Islamic extremism, to show how Islam oppresses women or when talking about niqab bans,' she penned in 2022.
'In the Muslim community I had experienced many kinds of stigma against niqabi sisters before I myself started wearing it and then after wearing it myself.'
Another writer, Noshin Bokht, writing for The Muslim Vibe, shared her own experiences with the niqab in 2017.
'My father was oblivious to the fact that I was even considering wearing the niqab, until the day I actually started wearing it. I am not married, and my brothers are both significantly younger than me, so no man in my life could've influenced my decision,' she wrote.
'However, those who are forced to wear niqab by the males in their lives have been greatly wronged and are indeed oppressed. Those who force it upon women are not following any religion, only their own malicious desires.
'The preferment to wear the niqab is an extraordinarily intimate one, and it is a means for that individual to enhance their relationship with God.
'It is my reminder that I am a Muslim woman, honoured by the Almighty, with a much more preeminent purpose. It does not serve the purpose of helping men to keep their sexual desires in check, that responsibly falls on the man alone, regardless of my choice of attire. This liability is ordained by Allah, Himself.'
She also stressed that 'it is time the world puts an end to defining women by their clothing, especially niqabi women and reforming such inaccurate outlooks'.
Both the niqab and burqa have continued to face scrutiny in legislation all over the world.
Earlier this month, Reform UK MPs called for a ban on burqas in Britain - but there was confusion as officials insisted prohibiting the garment is not the party's policy.
Sarah Pochin, who won last month's Runcorn and Helsby by-election for Reform, threw her support behind a ban during Prime Minister's Questions.
As she quizzed Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons, Ms Pochin asked the PM if he would support outlawing the burqa, which is worn by some Muslim women.
'Given the PM's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?,' she said.
Ms Pochin's question triggered disquiet in the Commons and cries of 'shame' from other MPs.
Sir Keir did not answer Ms Pochin's question but instead took the opportunity to attack Reform's economic plans - as set out by party leader Nigel Farage last week.
After PMQs, Lee Anderson, one of Ms Pochin's fellow Reform MPs, also gave his public backing to a burqa ban.
Yet, despite two out of the five Reform MPs supporting a ban, a party spokesman said it was 'not party policy' - although they added it was an issue that 'needs a national debate'.
At the 2010 general election, Mr Farage stood for UKIP - his former party - on a manifesto that called for a ban on both the burqa and niqab.
But he later disowned UKIP's 2010 manifesto as 'drivel' when he returned as the party's leader after the contest.
In his reply to Ms Pochin in the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir told the recently-elected MP: 'Can I welcome her to her place, but I'm not going to follow her down that line.
'But now she is here and safely in her place, perhaps she could tell her new party leader [Mr Farage] that his latest plan to bet £80billion of unfunded tax cuts, with no idea how he's going to pay for it, is Liz Truss all over again.
'Although considering I think (Ms Pochin) was a Conservative member when Liz Truss was leader, she probably won't.'
Sir Keir's response drew criticism from Tory former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who posted on social media afterwards: 'After failing to answer any of Kemi's (Badenoch) questions, he basically said to Sarah Pochin that he didn't like her question, so "wasn't going to engage with it".
'Refusing to answer MPs' questions isn't an option as a government minister.'
Mr Anderson later shared a social media video of Ms Pochin speaking at PMQs, adding: 'Ban the burqa? Yes we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.'
Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said he did not support a ban on burqas in Britain.
'Fundamentally I do believe in freedom and I believe that people should have the choice to to wear whatever they want,' he told GB News.
'I wouldn't like to tell you what to wear. But I do also think it's important to make sure that women are not in any way coerced into doing something that they don't want to do.
'So I think it is very important to make sure that women are not being coerced and are able to make their own free choices.'
Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy introduced a ban on burqas in France in 2010.
Anyone found wearing the covering in a public space can face a fine of 150 euros (£125). It has since been unsuccessfully challenged in the European courts.
Belgium brought in a similar ban a year later, and other countries including Denmark and Austria have got similar laws.
Switzerland was the latest European country to introduce a prohibition, which started on January 1 this year.
Last year, it was also announced that women in Kyrgyzstan - a Muslim-majority country - will be fined for wearing a full-body niqab under a new plan that is supported by the country's official Muslim governing body.
The authority said the garments could hide 'attackers in disguise' and are 'alien to our society'.
