Muslim Convert Discusses Wearing the Niqab During the Nancy Isime Scandal: “People See Us Differently”
Recently, Nollywood actress Nancy Isime released pictures from a movie she was in, which ignited an online discussion on how Muslims are portrayed in the media.
With their scary weaponry and bank-facing poses, the movie star and other people in the pictures looked like they were robbing a bank. They were also wearing niqabs.
Muslims, particularly those who wear headscarves, took to social media in response to Nancy’s tweet, protesting the film’s derogatory portrayal of their faith.
Sumayyah, who is also a niqab-wearing woman, explained how Muslim women in Nigeria have had to put up with a lot of unjust treatment.
The author, who wasn’t always a Muslim, went on to share her first negative experience after she started wearing the hijab. Sumayyah shared the story of how it happened in a pharmacy inside a mall and how the attendant quickly locked the drawer and looked at her in fear after she walked in with a backpack.
She Said:
“Muslims in general and Muslim women especially have to put up with uncivil treatment in most parts of Nigeria. I was not always a Muslim, and I did not always wear the hijab, so believe me when I say the world does treat us differently. The first negative encounter I had with my hijab was at a pharmacy in a mall.
I walked in with a backpack, and the pharmacist instantly locked the drawer and was looking at me, visibly afraid, like I had a bomb in my bag. This was strange to me. That was in 2019, and subsequently, there have been worse cases than that one.”
Sumayyah stated that although there are many Muslims who are treated differently, she would not place too much blame on Muslims themselves because of how they have been portrayed in the media. Says she:
“People treat us differently. I don’t blame them because every day, there’s someone saying something negative about Muslims on social media whether true or concocted to promote their religious bigotry.
Before I found Islam, I used to believe being a devout Muslim was bad too. My four-year-old sister once called a Northern beggar the name of a terrorist group because that was what she saw on TV about people who looked like him every single time.”
The author continued by explaining why Muslim women on social media were agitated by Nancy Isime’s widely shared tweet. She claims that although Nigerians are already emotional beings, things are far worse for women who are already seen like second-class citizens for practicing their religions.
