Under the Veil: The personal and political meanings of the hijab

By Omar Mouallem, Published in Eighteen Bridges, Spring 2011

On a frigid January afternoon, I sat in the foyer of Shadified Salon & Spa, waiting for my sister to arrive. Across the lobby, I could see mirrors and barber chairs, but most of the customers were hidden by a corner wall. I could still hear their conversations, and when the stylists, many of whom were Lebanese, were done, their customers weren’t just gorgeous, they were, “Gorgeous, wallah!” — a word many in this north Edmonton neighbourhood near Little Lebanon would recognize as, “I swear to God.”

Like any salon, it was a room of activity, banter and high spirits. Ceiling speakers shot out songs from the pop stars inspiring the haircuts. The clients waiting with me, however, were subdued and silent, as if stuck in a medi-clinic below a nightclub. A twenty-something woman with wavy hair sat on a couch flipping through an issue of Cosmopolitan. Across from her a tired-looking mother with a lap full of teen-sized winter jackets stared at a whiteboard of microdermabrasion prices. Beside her, a stylish lady with blonde Taylor Swift curls texted compulsively. Nothing could break the detached concentration of waiting.

Until my sister entered. [continue reading]