Jan 26 - World Hijab Day Comes To Gibraltar
This is the first year Gibraltar will be taking part in World Hijab Day, an event which is celebrated across 140 countries across the world regardless of religious backgrounds.
The main purpose of the annual event held on Wednesday 1st February, which was started off by founder Nazma Khan in America in 2013, is to bring more awareness and understanding to the community on why some women choose to wear the Hijab.
The event in Gibraltar is being organised by Nadia Esserti, who has been selected as an ambassador for World Hijab Day in Gibraltar.
Women of all religious backgrounds are invited to come along to John Mackintosh Square from 9am to 2.30pm to find out more information about the Hijab, try one on if they’re up to it and to participate in a survey about their experience.
YGTV met with Nadia at the Commonwealth Park where she demonstrated how she drapes the Hijab on her friend and co-organiser for World Hijab Day in Gibraltar, Anne-Marie Struggles.
Nadia said: “I wanted World Hijab Day to come to Gibraltar because there are lots of Hijabis here on the Rock and I wanted to show the tolerance we have in our community and how lucky we are to live in a place that is so tolerant.
“This is not an event to impose the Muslim religion on anyone but to raise awareness and gain understanding.”
Nadia made the decision to start wearing a Hijab in December last year and says this is something she has been wanting to do for a very long time and has received a lot of support in her decision to wear the Hijab from her family and friends.
She said: “Since wearing the Hijab I feel like I can control over my body and it is liberating for me. I can control my body and what people can see and cannot see.”
Anne-Marie said: “We’ve been friends for a long time and when she decided to wear the Hijab I shared a lot of tears because I took it for granted.
“I had to research it and talk to her about it, and as a fighter for women’s rights, I really struggled with this decision of hers.
“I came to realise Nadia was in a different place with her faith that led her to make this choice and it wasn’t her religion, her husband or her society that led her to make this choice but rather it’s something she felt in her heart that it was the right time.”
One of the things that Anne-Marie did to show her support for Nadia and her decision was to buy her some scarves while she was on holiday.
The celebrations for World Hijab Day continue in the evening with an open invitation to come along to the Ibrahim-al-Ibrahim Mosque at Europa Point from 6pm to 8pm where there will be videos explaining the Hijab and a video from the founder Nazma Khan. Tea and cakes will also be served and the event is open to the community.
The event in Gibraltar is being organised by Nadia Esserti, Ann-Marie Struggles, Marwa El Ouhabi, Sara Catania, Acia El Banziqui, Caroline Parody, Khaoula El Andaloussi, Zohra El Gharbaoui and Ellie McCauley-Cummins.
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