Margin Notes

What I Was Reading:

“An Open Letter To Those Who Want To Liberate Me From Wearing My Hijab” by Amira B. Kunbargi is a bold, honest, and witty letter to people who make false and harmful assumptions about women and girls who choose to wear Hijab. There are many beautifully written parts in this letter. Here is one section that stands out with moves writers may want to try:

I don’t need your life jacket. I am not drowning in dogmatism or ideological idiocy. Nor am I prisoner to a patriarchal rampart. I am not brainwashed, backward, or bound. You don’t need to rescue me so stop trying to save me.

I don’t need saving. What I need is respect.

What Moves I Notice the Writer Making:

• She begins claiming authority and control over her identity.
• She uses words that others may have used to define her and strips them of their power.
• She uses short, simple sentences, each with its own claim.
• She shows her mature understanding of the world by using complex words within her short sentences.
• She repeatedly uses the word “I”, which centers her as the one reclaiming the power others have tried to take away.
• She ends with a clear statement of what she desires, what she needs.

Possibilities for Writers:

• Using a similar format, confront a stereotype or a label others have used to define you.
• Be bold and specific with your word choice – using words in your writing that others have used to define you.
• Address the possible political or cultural ideas of thought that have lead to you being labeled or stereotyped.
• End with a demand of what you need from people around you in order to feel safe and valued.