She, too, struggled with the choice of wearing a hijab when she was a teenager. Abdel-Fattah says people should not assume that Muslim women who wear the hijab are being controlled by men. 'You can sometimes feel like you're in a zoo: locked in the cage of other people's stereotypes, prejudices and judgments, on parade to be analyzed, deconstructed and reconstructed,' says Abdel-Fattah, a Muslim who has Palestinian and Egyptian parents but was born in Australia. Their challenge: How do I fit in when I wear something that makes me stand out? Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has written two novels about this question, says wearing the hijab can 'exhaust' some young Muslim women in the West. who wear the hijab may be even more acute. The pressure on Muslim teenagers in the U.S. In some cases, their worst critics are not Americans, but fellow Muslim Americans. Others ask them if they're a nun - or even allergic to the sun.

Some hijab-wearers say that strangers treat them as if they're terrorists. It's a simple piece of cloth, but it can place young Muslim women in Western countries in difficult situations. The hijab, also known as the veil, is the headscarf worn by Muslim women around the globe. But there's a form of religious profiling that some young Muslim women in America say they endure whenever they voluntarily wear the hijab. You want to make sure you keep it safe until that treasure is ready to be found.' The nation has heard plenty of debate over racial profiling.

'When you have something precious, you usually hide it. may offer challenges Some wearers say they get strange looks and sometimes angry remarks But those who voluntarily wear it say it can help them in their faith and teen life 'My mom says a girl is like a jewel,' Abdelaziz says. Story Highlights The hijab is the head scarf worn by Muslim women Wearing one as a Muslim teenager in the U.S. 'It represents beauty to me,' says Abdelaziz, the 17-year-old daughter of two Egyptian parents living in Old Bridge, New Jersey. What the Muslim high school senior wants you to understand is that she doesn't wear the hijab, the head scarf worn by Muslim women, because she is submissive. She doesn't want your frosty public stares the whispers behind her back the lament that she's been degraded by her father. Rowaida Abdelaziz doesn't want your pity.

The Veil Unveiled by Faegheh Shirazi