Carolina CP4

Last week Jordan and I went with Hammad to Aladdin’s. We hung out late into the evening—the classic Arab way—but what really struck me most about this meeting was Hammad’s openness about discussing women’s rights with me. I asked him pretty forward questions about why women have to cover their hair and why they are perceived to not be as respected as men. Hammad told me that actually it’s quite the opposite, it’s because they are so respected that they are so protected and “covered.” Hammad told me about the traditions at home and under what circumstances his mom is allowed to uncover her hair. I asked what the dating situations would be like and asked him so many hypothetical questions like, “If you’re sixteen and you see a girl you really want to date, can you at least get coffee with her?” And the answer was, of course, “Absolutely not!!” He was so patient with putting up with my questions about women’s rights and feminism and he didn’t just get annoyed, he actually seemed interested in my own opinions on women’s rights and I really feel like we both came to a deeper understanding of the other’s reasons for why we feel the way we do towards women’s rights.