{"198821":{"#nid":"198821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Women Come Together to \u0027Unveil the Veil\u0027","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELast Wednesday in the Student Center, women of various faiths and backgrounds gathered to discuss one of the most visual elements of Islamic culture: the hijab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of both Islamic Awareness Month and Women\u2019s Awareness Month, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) hosted Unveiling the Veil. At the event, guests were invited to try wearing a headscarf for two days to experience the custom themselves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe wanted to dispel some of the misconceptions and emphasize the idea of empowerment through modesty,\u201d said Hala El-Shaffey, a biomedical engineering major and one of the organizers of the event.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGuest speaker Zaynab Ansari, a Muslim woman and doctoral student at Georgia State University, gave some background on hijab from a religious and historical perspective. She indicated that the term \u201chijab\u201d is often misused to refer to a specific type of dress or article of clothing when it actually denotes the Muslim practice of women covering the body and wearing modest dress as a way to feel closer to God.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOlivia Ginn, a civil engineering major who attended the event and chose to try wearing the headscarf, had an appreciation for it after just 24 hours.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u0027s really cool to see how people react to my wearing it and to be able to explain why I\u0027m doing it,\u201d she said. \u201cHaving learned about the true meaning of it and how it\u0027s not supposed to be a symbol of oppression, I got to explain this to a lot of people and, hopefully, change the way they see it. I was nervous at first, but so far I have loved getting out of my comfort zone and putting myself in someone else\u0027s shoes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOn March 8, International Women\u2019s Day, a second event gave participants the opportunity to reconvene and discuss the experience.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne girl felt that [wearing the headscarf] had made her more reflective and God-conscious during the day and had even brought her closer to her own faith of Christianity,\u201d said El-Shaffey. \u201cTheir reflections and feelings reminded me of my initial weeks starting the hijab my freshman year.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA few Muslim men also participated in the discussions, some leaving with changed or renewed perspectives. One came to college with a negative and oppressive view of hijab from family experiences but has since developed a respect and admiration for the women who do it, as he has made friends who practice hijab by choice. Another views the practice as a badge of honor for women and a symbol of the beauty of Islam.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOverall, the event made us all more tolerant and understanding of one another,\u201d said Kinza Shekhani, a biomedical engineering major and president of the MSA. \u201cI truly felt that each individual left with positive views on the hijab.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe hijab-wearing women commended the guests who committed to wearing headscarves for the first time during the suggested two-day trial.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt took a lot of guts for them to try the hijab, and I really admire them for their participation,\u201d said El-Shaffey. \u201cListening to their thoughts \u2026 really brought me closer to my faith and caused me to reflect on how empowering and liberating modesty can be.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWomen from the Christian-based Bryan College, who had met women from Tech\u2019s MSA during a recent visit to Atlanta, partnered with Tech for the event by participating virtually from their campus in Dayton, Tenn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEvents to recognize both Islamic Awareness Month and Women\u2019s Awareness Month will continue to take place throughout March.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Muslim Student Association hosted an event to dispel misconceptions about their cultural custom of hijab.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Muslim Student Association hosted an event to dispel misconceptions about their cultural custom of hijab."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2013-03-12 11:29:36","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:48","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-03-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-03-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"198121":{"id":"198121","type":"image","title":"Unveiling the Veil 2013","body":null,"created":"1449179918","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:38","changed":"1475894851","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:31","alt":"Unveiling the Veil 2013","file":{"fid":"196486","name":"veil1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/veil1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/veil1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1899956,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/veil1_0.jpg?itok=BcTOSQYo"}},"198131":{"id":"198131","type":"image","title":"Unveiling the Veil 2013","body":null,"created":"1449179918","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:38","changed":"1475894851","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:31","alt":"Unveiling the Veil 2013","file":{"fid":"196487","name":"veil2a.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/veil2a_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/veil2a_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3611453,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/veil2a_0.jpg?itok=jah3Yhd4"}},"198141":{"id":"198141","type":"image","title":"Unveiling the Veil 2013","body":null,"created":"1449179918","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:58:38","changed":"1475894851","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:31","alt":"Unveiling the Veil 2013","file":{"fid":"196488","name":"veil2b.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/veil2b_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/veil2b_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3511277,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/veil2b_0.jpg?itok=H9rOYu89"}}},"media_ids":["198121","198131","198141"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/wam.gatech.edu\/","title":"Women\u0027s Awareness Month"},{"url":"http:\/\/diversityprograms.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of Diversity Programs"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4268","name":"Islam"},{"id":"1025","name":"muslim"},{"id":"60821","name":"Muslim Student Association"},{"id":"4783","name":"Women\u0027s Awareness Month"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}