Dr. Nausheen Pasha-Zaidi, Assistant Professor of General Studies at the Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi, is collecting narratives on experiences with hijab/veiling and is seeking stories/personal essays from a variety of viewpoints for an anthology on this topic. She would like to collect writing from the following perspectives:
- Muslim women who wear hijab and Muslim women who do not wear hijab
- Non-Muslims (men and women) who have had some thoughtful experiences with Muslim practices of veiling
- Hijab/veiling in the media/fashion/arts
- Older generations of Muslims (both male and female)
- Muslim men
- International perspectives (outside of the US)
- Feministic perspectives (both Western feminists and Islamic feminists)
- Religious scholars and their personal experiences with hijab in contemporary societies
- Veiling in non-Islamic religions or cultures
The essays should be between 1,500-3,000 words, and all narratives must be authentic stories and reflections. Stories can approach the topic from a variety of vantage points—humorous,, tongue-in-cheek, serious, evangelical or critical, for example. However, they should represent a thoughtful and reflective view of the hijab/veiling as experienced by the author. The idea is to showcase the various conversations that people around the world are having with regards to this topic in contemporary societies, so some description of the location and people in the stories is imperative to provide a context.
As an author, you may choose to remain anonymous or use a pseudonym. Please state this as your preference when submitting your work. Otherwise, your name will appear as a contributor. The deadline is June 1, 2015.
Submissions and questions may be emailed to Dr. Pasha-Zaidi at nausheenpasha@outlook.com.