View from under a headscarf

Gosh, it's dark in here, what happened? No time to change the template again tonight.

Highlight of my busy day was a five-minute chat with a young student who's earning some extra cash by doing a humble cleaning job at the International Bakery. She's bright, intelligent, makes contact easily and speaks fluent, accentless Dutch. She's also Muslim and wears a headscarf. But she hasn't always worn one. In fact, for all of her 24 years until this January, she never wore one. So why's she wearing a headscarf now? (This time, I dared to put the question; this girl's strong, with life in her eyes, no hint of repression.)

She gave two answers:
1. It feels like a sort of protection against the outside world.
2. She wants to know first-hand how people will react.

Badly, seems to be the answer. It seems a strange move for any bright youngster to make during these Muslim-bashing times. But it's an interesting experiment for a student of psychology - which is what she told me she is.

I suggested she should write a diary of her experiences. It would make an interesting article. Come to think of it, it would make a very interesting blog...