Photo by Shehla Mohammad

Prithi Antony seated on the left and Jaya Duvvari on the right are both International graduate students and are Indian. Antony is Christian and Duvvari is Hindu.

Some eastern women unveil after Sept. 11
by Shehla Mohammad
UHCLIDIAN Staff

Whether it is called a veil, niqab, headscarf, hijab, chador, burka, or anything else, it is associated with Muslim women.

Women wear this type of clothing mainly for religious purposes; some wear it for cultural purposes. Some who wear it are not even Muslim.

After the Sept. 11 attacks, wearing traditional dress became a controversial issue.

Many women felt frightened for their safety, perhaps because of the scarf. Others felt threatened due to their skin color.

Photo by Shehla Mohammad

Hibah Salem is a Muslim and is also a graduate student.

"I had friends who did not leave their homes for weeks," said Hibah Salem, a Muslim student studying psychology. "They sent their husbands to take their children to school."

Mizna Albalushi, an international student from Oman, said the embassy called her and her sister to offer them a ticket back home and tuition reimbursement.

"I was a bit scared, but I felt it was sometimes over exaggerated," Albalushi said. "My sister did get some looks and comments, especially from this one guy. We went to the police office here on campus and they took care of the situation."

On the other hand some people were not scared, because they were used to it.

"Everybody treated us the same way," Salem said. "People stared, and they always stared, but I did not receive any comment."

Women wear hijabs for different reasons. However, it is primarily worn to show subservience to God.

"I had friends whose parents told them to take the scarf off," Salem said. "It used to be that the parents had to convince them to wear it, but now they wear it behind their parents' backs."

The university has a large percentage of international students. About 11 percent of the school population is classified as Asian, of which a large number are Indian students. Muslims, Hindus and Christians from Eastern countries also noticed different reactions from people.

"I felt sad that something like this happened to such a great country," said Jaya Duvvari, a Hindu graduate student from India. "I felt threatened but not much, because we live in such a safe campus."

"People could not even tell the difference between our cultures," said Prithi Antony, a Christian graduate student from India.

Some international students wear traditional outfits from counties like India or Bangladesh, although they have felt that people still look at them critically.

"You would walk with a salwaar kameez on and people would stare at you instead of watching television on the campus."

A salwaar kameez is an outfit traditionaly worn in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kashmir and other places. It is a type of long shirt, pant and scarf. The scarf can be worn over the shoulders or on the head.

To educate people about different cultures, the International Student Organization will sponsor a program called "Cultural Evening," March 22. Students of different cultures will don native dress and perform music and dances associated with their country of origin. This program is intended to be an icebreaker for people who need help understanding different cultures.