Covered - From Head to Toe
I was walking around the busy streets of Cairo this past summer slightly lost. I say “slightly” because I was sure I was at the metro station, I just couldn’t for the life of me find the entrance. I decided to ask. “Excuse me Madame,” I said to a small woman dressed in black from head to toe. Her face was completely covered except for her eyes - the niqab is a way for women to disappear in public. Unlike some other Islamic countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, the hijab or niqab is not required in Egypt.
I asked her about the entrance to the metro station, and she graciously offered to walk me there. As I peered between the slits of fabric at her eyes and listened to her voice, I realized that this is no short woman. I was speaking to a child. “I’m sorry, I called you Madame, but it seems that you’re quite young,” I said. She smiled (at least I think she did), and told me not to worry about it. “There’s no way you could tell anyway,” she assured me. During our short walk, I tried to learn as much as I could. It’s not often that I would be able to chat with a girl hidden behind a niqab.
She’s sixteen years old. She took on the niqab six years ago at the age of ten. She hadn’t even reach puberty. When I asked about her motives, she really didn’t answer my question, but told me that it was her decision. I asked her if it made her feel closer to God. “Of course,” she said, “this is the best thing.” I felt sad. How could looking like a black ghost bring her closer to God? Instead of asking her that, I decided on another question. We had arrived at the metro but I couldn’t let her go until I knew the answer. “How do you eat at a restaurant with your mouth covered like that?” Her little hand was gloved in black as she gestured. “I don’t eat in the street,” she said, “I don’t like people seeing me eat.” It seems that her quest to become invisible is complete.