E064 Ayesha Munir Answers Questions About Hijabs
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 64
Date: April 18, 2023
Participants: John Webster, Elise Seifert, Cameron Earnshaw and Sheila Webster
Guest: Ayesha Munir
Start times and Segments:
[0:00:35] What’s On Your Mind: Elise and John discuss an article, “Regular visits to green spaces linked to lower use of certain prescriptions – study”, from the Jerusalem Post. The observational study found that frequent visits to green spaces such as parks and community gardens led to decreased use in some people of drugs used for depression, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure an asthma. Visiting three or four times a week was associated with lower use of mental health medications. The same effect was no observed if people looked outside from their house. It occurs to us that we often move our bodies (exercise) when we visit these spaces. We’re often walking, swimming, cycling, hiking, running, etc. We wonder whether that helps with the positive impact.
[0:09:15] Expanding Minds Interview: [Spiritual Wellness] We interview uni student Ayesha Munir, who answers our questions about hijabs. She had preconceived notions about the hijab before she started practicing her Muslim faith more. She wondered why women had to cover their bodies, but then learned about the beauty of it and how it’s not supposed to be a barrier. It’s supposed to liberate Muslim women and make the feel even more powerful, because they’re being judged purely by their actions and not by how they look and how their body looks.
[0:25:10] Adventures of the Starving Artist: Cameron has a mixed bag of things to do. He’s breaking in the new contracts he obtained recently from a lawyer. It’s a relief, because dealing with paperwork had been a hurdle to him. Now he has a sense of calm. He’s excited about helping with instrumentation on a couple songs he’s helping with.
[0:30:01] Move That Body: We came across a social media post that displayed helpful visuals of a moderate amount of different foods to eat, based on the size of your hand.
[0:35:17] Running Popup: Many Zoom or Teams calls end with a series of “goodbye” and “see you later” and “enjoy the evening” and on and on. Can we come up with a catch phrase to end these calls?
[0:36:17] Flipside of the Coin: After a not great experience at a restaurant, we chat about how to head into the next restaurant trip with a better frame of mind. We got caught up on how expensive restaurant’s have become. We hesitated in ordering more wine, or dessert for other reasons. Next time we’ll head into the experience with positive thoughts. It should improve things.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Ayesha – This short interview will not be able to truly show the entirety of the hijab and Muslim women. There is so much more to it. Hijab means barrier or to cover in Arabic. It’s a piece of cloth that most Muslim women wear on their head. It’s meant to represent modesty and humility in our faith.
Ayesha – In a world where people are so obsessed with the hyper-sexualization of women, it’s very liberating for some Muslim women to cover their bodies and still be able to do all activities.
Ayesha – With the hijab it’s not only the things that we wear or the clothing that we have on our bodies. It’s also about how we act, how we speak and how we treat other people.
Ayesha – The first thing mention in the Quran is how we act, which is a bigger thing. We’re told to be kind, to be modest in the way we speak and not to have large egos. The hijab is very strongly enforcing how we act and then also what we wear, but that comes after. We’re encouraged to be good human beings first, before the clothing comes into play.
Ayesha – I think it’s beautiful that it helps me connect with people I don’t even know, even if it’s in passing – a smile or a small hi or hello greeting. It’s really beautiful that there’s a connectedness that people can feel when they see the hijab or other Muslim people.
Ayesha – Once you fall in love with a hijab, you understand that it’s supposed to protect you. It’s not supposed to be a barrier for you to do anything. You can still play sports. You can still get an education. You can still work. It should never serve as a barrier, but it’s more of a protection for you from the world.
Ayesha – I had preconceived notions about the hijab before I started practicing my Muslim faith more. I always wondered why women had to cover their bodies, but then I learned about the beauty of it and how it’s not supposed to be a barrier. It’s supposed to liberate us and make us feel even more powerful, because I’m being judged purely by my actions and not by how I look and how my body looks.
John – If someone has a preconceived notion that you are weak and you respond by being kind, that may reinforce their preconceived idea, which is totally wrong to me, because I believe being kind and courteous is strength.
Bulletin Board Quote brought to you by Elise: We’re pretty much house plants that are a little more complicated.
Guest Information: Ayesha Munir is a first year student at the University of Waterloo, in the Arts and Business program. She’s majoring in legal studies and hoping to minor in human rights. She’s currently a part of the UW Legal Studies Society as well as UW Raising the Roof. Ayesha has a part-time job and is on the City of Kitchener’s Anti-Racism and Equity Committee. In her free time, she enjoys working out, reading and spending my time outside in nature.
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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle and Julie