NOT THE RIGHT TIME
When she took off the hijab,
Iqra Azhar felt strange. “It was like I’m missing something,” she said. “Some people didn’t even recognize me.” After going through a difficult time in her life, she became aware she had changed. “I realized I’m a different person than the person I used to be when I had it on — I wasn’t being the Muslim I wanted to be.” Azhar, 27, felt that she had to start from scratch, going back to the basics. “I wanted to get back to my prayers and look back into my heart, because I felt like I had to save my character first.” Having lived both lives, with and without hijab, she says that while wearing it, she had to work harder. “But there was also more respect afterwards.” Without it, she says, there’s less pressure to do everything right. She has a collection of more than 200 scarves she cannot part with, as they’ve become a part of her. “I’m not sure if I will wear it again . . . it’s just not for me right now.”