Terrence A. Riley
English 100
Ms. Drew Denton
June 25, 2012

A Woman’s Worth

“My Body Is My Own Business”, a memoir by Naheed Mustafa is her opinion of why wearing the hijah liberates her and Muslim woman alike. Mustafa writes that freeing yourself from the ways of the western world will make you feel more free and not of the mainstream world. Mustafa states “The Koran teaches us that men and woman are equal, that individuals should not be judged according to gender, beauty, wealth or privilege “page 121. How can she feel such a way about wearing the hijah if she believes in the Koran? Mustafa argues that wearing the hijah is liberating for Muslim women; however Mustafa failed to recognize that she is still not free and liberated from the world.

In my opinion wearing the hijab does not make you free and liberated. Being your own person and knowing yourself worth is what makes you free and liberated. Mustafa thinks the ways of the world have driven us to look at beauty first and the person’s character last however in my opinion Mustafa was wrong on all accounts. Mustafa ,herself has fallen to the ways of the world, Mustafa “I was a borderline bulimic and spent a lot of money I didn’t have on potions and lotions in hopes of becoming the next Cindy Crawford “page 122.One day she wakes up thinking the hijah shall set you free; how wrong was she? One can only become truly free and liberated when they come to know their own self-worth. You have to be able to turn away from what the world is doing and find your own path, road, course, and destiny. You have to be able to turn the other way when you see the storm ahead. Mustafa thinks wearing a hijab will deter people from looking at her for beauty, but now she has created another problem, Mustafa is now a radical, a fundamentalist Muslim packing an AK-47and an oppressed woman. How