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Would not being visibly Muslim keep a woman, a family safe if there is hate, or would it be enough just to be marked out by the colour of their skin?
On the 6th of June, a 20 year old ‘visibly white’ person drove a truck over a Canadian-Muslim family in London, Ontario, killing the husband and wife, their 15 year old and the husband’s mother. Leaving behind their 9 year old with serious injuries.
Canada did not skip a beat to declare this as a pre-meditated hate crime attack; calling it an act of terrorism, and I am proud of this country for that.
This incident definitely drew a lot of conversations and debates with family and friends around me, on social media and in person; leaving me wondering – on which side of the coin was I…?
I’m an Indian Muslim, but not visibly so. I do not wear a hijab. I don shorts in summers. And that is completely out of choice.
This incident set me wondering, that if I ever chose to adopt the hijab, would I be brave enough to do so? With my hand on my heart, I would not be. I would want to keep my family safe and I do not want to die, at least not like this.
Is that my side of the coin then? Do I not stand by folks who choose their faith over safety?
The Muslim hijab or the Sikh turban or the Jewish kippah (skull-cap) are a lot more than just visible symbols of faith. The identity of the individual is rooted there; so are their beliefs. Giving it up would be giving up a significant part of them; giving up their identity.
If that hijab clad Muslim woman was not safe, how safe would I be if I have the dupatta covering my head to protect me from the sun? The dupatta which I had to take probably as a futile attempt to avert the infamous male gaze?
How safe is that cancer survivor who chooses to cover her bare head?
Would that family be safe, if the women in the family did not have their heads covered? Maybe or maybe not. Because they would not be able to scrap off the brown of their skin, even if they wanted to.
From subtle offensive comments to a heinous hate crime, done in the name of differences, be it gender, religion, race, skin colour etc., need to be condemned and punished.
I don’t need to look like someone or hold the same beliefs, to recognize injustice and voice my disapproval of it, even if it is just that, that I can do. The side of the coin which I would be on is the one which does not accept intolerance towards differences, at any cost.
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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