POEM: My Hijab is my empowerment, my strength, and my honor
Muslim women are powerful and can choose to wear a headscarf or not, says RadioActive’s Rahmah Abdulazeez. Rahmah wrote a poem about how she deals with discrimination as a hijabi in the United States. Rahmah wove her poem together with moments from a conversation with her sister, Zahraa Abdulazeez.
[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This episode was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]
T
he pain that never eases when I hear the voices
They swirl around me and confine me.
The stares that never cease, the fingers pointing in my way
I try so hard to keep them at bay.
But better believe it only gets worse
When they blindly accuse me and curse.
When they call me a terrorist, when I’ve lost the most
They blame the hijab that protected me from west to coast.
Ever since that day I wore the hijab, I was given a choice
Whether I agreed or not, I had a voice.
I want to let you know
Every time you criticize me, my faith will only grow.
You are no different from me
Don’t let religion be a barrier to a degree.
Yes, we have different beliefs
But in the end of the day, we all suffer from grief.
I am a survivor
A warrior in disguise.
My armor is what kept me alive.
My battle scars are from those who lied.
Don’t take silence for weakness
My faith and patience are my uniqueness.
I am power waiting to be free.
Don’t keep criticizing,
Just let me be.
To the land between the two rivers:
Whenever I visit you, I quiver.
Mesopotamia, you were once great
Now all you are is bait.
To the ones who came and destroyed my home:
Your bombs, occupation, and casualties led us to roam.
Nevertheless, I still survived
But don’t think for a minute that I won't thrive.
We may be practicing different religions, but in the end
We all live under the same sky looking at the same moon.
This story was created in RadioActive's Online Intro to Radio Journalism Workshop for 15- to 18-year-olds, with production support from Kyle Norris. Prepared for the web by Charlotte Engrav. Edited by Diana Opong.
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