UNDER THE VEIL

A Canadian Woman Wears the Niqab to Support her

Muslim Friend
Documentary Script
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcoCUVn1d44
Narrator: This is Nika. Nika is a regular Canadian student who is studying at the
University of Ottawa. Nika has no Middle Eastern or Muslim background and is not
affiliated with a nation of Islam. However, she does have experience with the sting
that comes along with wearing what is deemed unusual attire for Canadian society.
Nika recently underwent a life-changing journey when she made the difficult
decision to wear a niqab for a period of time in order to support her Muslim friend
who is struggling for acceptance as a woman who chooses to cover her face. Her
friend has endured many injustices because of her style of dress, and so Nika has
decided to wear the niqab and walk side-by-side with her friend. Come along as we
follow Nika on this heart-warming journey under the veil.
Caption: Under the Veil
Nika: It was kind of a strange idea and it was a really interesting experience. But,
when I told her I asked her, So, Maha, what would you think about me going out
with you all dressed up like a Saudi woman? She was like, Really? Really?
Nika: When you have your face covered, people dont want to look at you. Its the
weirdest thing because you kind of stand out like a sore thumb, but, at the same
time, youre completely invisible. So, I know when Canadians see a woman with her
face covered, a lot of the time theyre thinking, shes really extreme, shes from
a crazy religion, maybe that shes even a terrorist. And, if not that, theyre
probably thinking that she is some poor Muslim woman who is oppressed and who
has no choice but to cover her face and is controlled by the men of her family and
her husband. But thats not always the case. My friend, Maha, covers her face
because she believes in it. Her family has told her that if she feels that its too
difficult for her here in Canada to cover her face that she should uncover it. They
support her either way.
Narrator: In Islam, there is a high emphasis on placed on modesty. Most Muslim
scholars believe that the covering of the hair is mandatory. However, it should never
be forced. A woman has to make that decision on her own. Some women go further
than that and choose themselves to cover their faces. To learn more, we spoke to
the Human Rights Coordinator from CAIR.CAN.
Amira: So my name is Amira Elghawaby and Im the Human Rights Coordinator her
at CAIR.CAN, which is the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations. We
are a non-profit grassroots organization that does human rights work around issues
affecting Canadian Muslims. So, whether its through media engagement, through
anti-discrimination cases that come to us, whether its through political
engagement, we try raise issues that affect Canadian Muslims and make sure that

people understand their rights and responsibilities, and that those rights and
responsibilities are respected.
Amira: Well, I think its quite remarkable that this young Muslim womans friend who
does not practice Islam has decided to wear the niqab and hijab as a sign of
solidarity for her friend so that she doesnt feel perhaps ridiculed or ostracized in
the community. So, I think that that young lady who has decided to do that shows a
lot of compassion and sympathy for her friend which is really quite commendable
and remarkable. So, I applaud that young lady for doing that.
Amira: The decision to cover ones face out of a religious duty is a very difficult
decision, I think. In Canada, obviously, the majority of women dont cover their hair
and a very, very women decide to wear the niqab if they truly believe that its a part
of their faith. So, its a difficult decision and obviously people are not necessarily
comfortable with it.
Nika: Even though its not part of my believe system, its not part of my religion, Im
going to support her to do what she feels like she should. She feels really strong
about it. But, you know what the thing is? She doesnt even judge other people. She
is not hurting anyone else by covering her own face. If you see a woman with her
face covered, you shouldnt automatically assume, you shouldnt automatically
think that you know her situation, that you know what shes like.
Amira: Well, I think so, if I were to come across this young Christian lady wearing
hijab and niqab, of course, my first assumption will be that she is a Muslim. It would
never cross my mind that she is not a Muslim.
Nika: If you see me in a mall with my face covered and you start judging me based
on me being an extreme Muslim, youre going to be way off! Im not even Muslim!
Nika: Why not just go up a woman and ask her what its all about. Talk to her. Youre
going to find out that shes a human being, shes a lot like we are here. She just has
her face covered. She might have an accent. But, she has the same desire that we
have here. She wants to be accepted and she wants to fit in and she wants to be
about to make friends. And the biggest problem for my friends who have their face
covered is just to connect with Canadians. Why are we making it so hard for them?
When we look at a woman with her face covered we assume that shes isolated, she
cant connect with people, and shes far away from other people in society. We
assume that. And, the thing is, sometimes, we are the ones that are making that
happen. If we treated them just like we treated other women and were kind to them
and we were friendly and we talked to them, they wouldnt feel isolated anymore.
They would just be women with their faces covered.
Amira: Who would choose to put themselves through that? Its a very difficult
decision. I myself tried it just to see what it would be like for one afternoon, and I
didnt last for five minutes just because of the looks that people were giving me.
And I, myself, am a very friendly person. I want to connect with people. And, I found
wearing the niqab was a very I personally didnt enjoy it. I found that it sort of
made me feel very separate from society. People looked at me with suspicion and
they clearly werent comfortable with me. And so I couldnt smile, I couldnt show

them that Im perfectly safe, Im perfectly harmless. So, for myself, I find it to be a
very difficult decision to make. So, I would never assume that someone is going to
make that choice to wear that without any religious conviction that theyre just
doing it out of sympathy. I think that that young woman is showing remarkable care
for her friend.
Nika: She just looked up at me and she said: Nika, when Im walking beside you, I
feel strong.
Amira: So, if Nika was sitting with me right now, I would just like to congratulate her
because I think that her decision to cover her face and wear the hijab shows that
she is very open-minded. Shes not trying to judge or change her friend. She is not
Muslim. However, Nika believes that she wants to support her friend. And I believe
all of the faiths whether its Christianity, Islam, or even humanists or atheists I
think everyone at the bottom of their heart knows that treating each other with
respect and dignity is what humanity should be all about. So, I think that Nika is an
example for all of us that even myself, I may want to change others, but it
shouldnt be about that. It should be about supporting others and their decisions
and showing them that were going to be there for them and that we want to make
them feel better. So, I really commend her and I hope that we can all be like that.
Nika: After all, here in Ottawa it is legal to cover your face in public. Its not against
any law its just against our society norms. We see a woman and we misjudge her
and we think all kinds of crazy things without even talking to her and we just put up
a big wall in front of us and block her out with no reason. A lot of these women are
just dying to meet Canadians and dying to have friends here and we just shut
them out.
Narrator: At this time, due to the emotional nature of the topic, Nika requested we
stop the interview.
Nika: Can you just stop for a second, please?
Director: Yup.
Narrator: What do you think? Could you do it?
Credits:
Directed by
Fawaz Al Jaber
Narration: Melissa Leduc
Camera: Fawaz Al Jaber
Audio: Mabinty Kamara
Editor: Jack Morris
Special Thanks to:
Nika Young

The Ottawa Muslim Association

Amira Elghawaby
CAIR CAN
Peter Morgan