Alishba- “Being a Muslim girl represents my love of Allah and the prophet Muhammad. It means that I am not afraid to express what I believe in and it means that I am strong. Islam gives me my strength and hope. So, really, being a Muslim girl means everything to me.

As a young Muslim girl, I have pushed many cultural barriers and faced struggles along with doing so. From the way that I dress to the way that I talk and overall how I present myself. It's different from how my parents grew up and it's different from my culture’s expectations. I’m an American-Pakistani-Muslim. I’m a bomber jacket and skinny jeans wearing girl by day, and a shalwar kameez wearing girl by night. But one thing that never changes is my hijab. Culture is difficult sometimes; Pakistani girls don't go out, Pakistani girls don't dress like ‘that’, Pakistani girls should be sweet and simple. I've broken all of those barriers and my family accepts me.

There have been many instances of scrutinisation because of the hijab I wear on my head. I have been called a terrorist, an immigrant (what's insulting about that?), Osama Bin Laden’s daughter and many other hateful things. Staring is almost a daily occurrence and quite frankly I'm used to it. It doesn't seem to hurt anymore when I am judged because I know who I am and I know what I stand for. When I was in sixth grade, a white boy in my English class said to me during a class discussion, ‘Shut up terrorist’. He then laughed along with some other classmates. The teacher didn't do much although she did ask him to apologise. I felt like I didn't belong there anymore. I felt like an alien and I just wanted to disappear. It was terribly embarrassing but I now know that there is nothing wrong with me and that I am just as American as that white boy.”

Kyna Uwaeme