Poem on Hijab
By: Rahat Kurd
 

From the scarfhead you glanced at
Uneasily as you went past in the street today;
The one you judged and dismissed
In the fraction of a second it took for your eyes
To transmit the image to your brain.
It is being written out of a weary kind of anger;
Because really I mean
It's only a scarf. Relax.

The first response: go with your gut.
I wear it
Because I want to. Deal with it.

The second response: politics and the fine art of the reactionary.
No I'm not oppressed, no I don't come from Iran,
No I'm not a fundamentalist.
Hey. Hey! I'm TALKING to you--

Third response: the appeal to intellect by reason.
My scarf, my resolve, my love achieved
After seventeen years of edging apologetically toward this
Fringe, far out, Islamic way of life-

Will command your respect: assert my right to dignity
Over the insolent stare of disbelief, contempt, or pity.
Will declare with pride our name, our faith, our identity.
Will LIBERATE my SISTERS from becoming VICTIMS OF PATRIARCHAL SEXIST TYRANNY!!
...will keep my ears quite warm in winter, actually...