‘Oppress Yourself Day’ for Toronto Women
Charles Johnson
Fri Oct 26, 2007 at 9:48 am PDT • Views: 401
It’s “Oppress Yourself Day” at the University of Toronto, and ultra-left newspaper the Toronto Star is giddy with excitement: An appeal to heart - and head.
For Kavelle Thorne, the most challenging part of wearing a hijab for the first time was figuring a way to get the earphones for her MP3 player on without dislodging the bright pink scarf covering her hair.
Luckily, Sajda Khalil, a veteran hijabi and organizer of the National Hijab Day initiative at the University of Toronto, was on hand. “You have to go under the scarf, not on top” she said, laughing.
Thorne, a third-year Caribbean studies student, was one of 70 non-Muslim women at U of T to take part in the cross-country initiative to encourage an understanding of the everyday experiences of a hijab-wearing Muslim woman. …
The impetus for this year’s event was an attempt to open dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims, said Khalil, a volunteer with the Muslim Students’ Association.
“The hijab creates a separation between yourself and somebody who is not Muslim,” she
admittedsaid. “People are more hesitant to just come up to you and ask you about it, even if they want to. That’s why this kind of event makes it a lot easier for people to start a conversation, and makes them realize that there really isn’t that much difference between me and them.”
(Hat tip: WriterMom.)
UPDATE at 10/26/07 11:33:44 am:
The Toronto Star’s print edition:
Frank says: