Anissa Majeed (22) recently graduated from UCD with a BA in history and English. Born in England, she has lived in Dublin since she was 16.
"The hijab has become an anathema in the West; a simple piece of cloth has come to symbolise the oppression and restriction of individual freedom. But where do these ideas of subjugation come from? Certainly not from strong, educated hijab wearing women like myself, who find it empowering.
Looking around, I see a world where the female body is used to sell products from travel to drinks and even crockery. The magazines and the billboards vociferate the same thing - if you want to sell a product, use a scantily dressed woman. School girls roll up their skirts believing it makes them more attractive.
Often, young men feel that they have a right to wolf whistle, touch and utter derogatory remarks about young women they barely know. The total objectification of the female body in modern society sickened me; this was not how I wanted to be defined. As these different images swirled around in my mind, the reason for donning the headscarf became clearer in that teenage head of mine. I was 18 when I began wearing the hijab.
Rather than curtailing my voice, the hijab made it stronger - it lent me an extra voice, one that made an impression without even having to speak. With one glance, the male population knew exactly where the boundaries lay, pressures from peers to drink or have sex did not exist.
A hijab makes it clear that no casual fraternisation is permitted; a relationship with me can only be one of permanence. It tells the world I take things seriously, especially relationships. The hijab is a true reflection of how I see myself as an educated, free woman completely in control of her body and actions, emancipated from society's negative influences.
What does my hijab articulate? 'Judge me for my intelligence,' it professes, so how can it be contradictory to the society we live in? It can only enhance the principles of freedom and equality, endorsing the very ideals women have always fought for. The hijab expresses my femininity beautifully without a display of my body, over which I have the ultimate power. In day-to-day interaction, individuals are obliged to focus on my face and notice the content, confident gleam in my eye.
Designed by an immortal, the definition of beauty offered by the hijab is not a slim figure or a low neckline and a high skirt line, but intelligence and virtuous character. Between those who enslave women through the extreme objectification of the body and those who severely subjugate women, I feel the embodiment of moderation lies within me.
Thus, hijab is not about retreating from society but engaging with it on my own terms - very rarely does it elicit a negative response. Generally, men are cautious and humbled, while occasionally there is condescension from certain women who are insecure in their own identity.
My hijab has never been a symbol of conflict, nor has it ever prevented me from reaching my goals. In university, my friends teased me for being the hijabi, with a perfect English accent and an immense love of Irish history - in essence, the quintessential multiculturalist."