Wearing the Hijab by Choice but Struggling with My Dad's Harshness
As-salamu alaykum, everyone. I started wearing the hijab when I was 13, about a year after my period began. My parents and uncles encouraged me to wear it, and at first, I was unsure because it felt like a lifelong commitment. But after a few months, I chose to wear it myself, Alhamdulillah, and felt proud and happy. My close friends who wore the hijab supported me a lot. I understood the basics of modest dress-wearing loose clothes that don’t show shape or color. I usually wore baggy jeans and hoodies, no makeup, just simple modest clothes. But over time, my dad became stricter. He would get upset and yell if my hoodie was too short or if he thought my pants showed my legs, even though they were loose. He started sending me videos from sheikhs saying wearing pants is like imitating men, and got angry when I disagreed. Eventually, he stopped buying me clothes altogether. When I wanted something new, he’d say it was too short, tight, or colorful. For almost three months, I wore the same jacket every time I went out. One day, I got really tired of this and wore my mom’s abaya to hang out with friends-even though I wanted to wear my own clothes. Then, when I went out with my parents the next week, my dad insisted I take off what I was wearing and put on the abaya. Since then, he won’t allow me to go out in pants or hoodies. When I was younger, I didn’t care about makeup much, but now at 16 and a half, I can’t even wear mascara or concealer. He won’t let me open my abaya to show my outfit underneath. He says he’s not forcing me to wear the abaya, and that I can wear pants and a shirt, but the shirt must cover my knees. That’s not really an option! Who wears baggy pants with a knee-length top? Because of all this, I’ve started to resent the hijab, which hurts me because I chose it happily before. Now, I even think about taking it off, but in my family, that’s looked down upon. I’m the only one on my dad’s side who wears the hijab; my cousins wear nice clothes and makeup and sit with the boys at family gatherings, while I have to stay separate to keep my hijab on or take it off. I don’t get excited for special occasions like Eid or traveling because I always have to wear the abaya closed and no makeup. My dad even had big arguments with my mom over this. One Eid, he yelled at me because he thought my skirt was see-through, even though I was fully covered, and ended up refusing to take us out. My dad’s strictness and controlling behavior have made it hard for me to feel confident. My younger sister has seen all this and dislikes the hijab because of the restrictions. My dad plans to force her to wear it, even though he says he gave her time to decide. I feel stuck. My dad is emotionally manipulative and controlling; our whole family’s mood depends on his feelings. It’s exhausting. Also, living in Saudi, I know it’s a safe place if you behave respectfully, but he still restricts me a lot just because I’m a girl. Thank you for reading this. It means a lot to me to share my feelings, even if nothing changes soon. My options feel limited-either leave my parents’ home or get married.