I started wearing the hijab during sixth grade. I wanted to- I remember begging my mom to start wearing it. I don’t even know why I was so passionate about it; I probably just wanted to wear it because it was something novel.
Throughout the following years, I never really questioned why I was wearing the hijab. It was just a routine, something I expected from myself, even if there was no one to watch over me and make sure I was wearing it. But as I got older and my sense of self-worth started to get entangled with my outward appearance, I began to think about what it would be like to take it off.
Eventually, I reached a point where I was considering leaving Islam just to be able to dress however I wanted.* At that point I realized that I needed to figure out why I should be wearing the hijab in the first place. There were two main questions I had to answer in order to be convinced, and in this editorial I want to address the first question:
Why even dress modestly in the first place?
I often hear people state that they are dressing for themselves and not for other people, but I don’t think that is possible. Human beings are naturally social creatures, and in order to live in a society/culture we are constantly aware of how we fit or don’t fit within the group of people we are around.
So we need to ask ourselves then, how are we presenting ourselves to society, and why? How much of our appearance influences the way we interact with other people?
Even in dressing modestly, you are still presenting an image to other people. The point is to control that narrative, to control how people perceive you.
Now admittedly, one can claim that you can shape how people perceive you with any form of fashion as self-expression. I will argue though that dressing modestly is the only true way to shape how people perceive you. This is easily realized when you think about the qualities that make you you. They’re not how you dress, or how your body looks- they’re how you act, and what you value.
Dressing modestly uniquely forces people to look beyond your body, and to your character instead. When you interact with people and form relationships, there is a greater focus on your character, intellect, and the values you represent, rather than superficial judgments based on appearance. This allows you to emphasize who you are as a person over how you look.
In a society that is very appearance-based, modest dressing would solve a lot of mental health problems. Imagine how social media or advertising would look without any body pictures! When we shift our focus away from physical appearances and beauty standards, and focus instead on values, character, and accomplishments, we allow ourselves to let go of the anxiety and insecurity that comes with superficial matters and focus on what is really important instead.
There are many reasons why modesty matters, but to me this is the most convincing. I’d love to hear why modesty matters to you in the comment section below! In the next editorial I’ll talk about why I consider the hijab to be the standard for modest attire so don’t forget to subscribe to get notified when it’s out!
*This is not to say that you’re not a muslim if you don’t wear a hijab! Personally, since I knew that the hijab was a requirement in Islam, I did not want to deal with the guilt of taking it off, so I considered leaving the faith altogether.