How One Teen Is Single-Handedly Making the Hijab Less Taboo

To accomplish this, she encouraged women to wear hijab “for a day, go public with it, and share their experiences on my site.”

Majeed first started the Hijab Project when she was only 16, out of a desire to educate people on Islamophobia and what she felt was a “misunderstood and underrepresented minority.” Since first donning a hijab at age 14, she began to notice both subtle and outright forms of discrimination and mockery, from terrorism accusations, to assumptions about her political and moral beliefs. “…I don’t feel safe walking in the streets alone at night with the hijab on,” Majeed said.

However, the birth of the Hijab Project has garnered support from multiple influential news sources, including Bustle and Good Morning America. Majeed’s other forms of Muslim activism, including an open letter explaining the pitfalls of Islamophobia to Donald Trump, have been featured in Seventeen Magazine, and CNN. Majeed is also the author of The Foreigners, a book detailing the lived experiences of Muslim people from around the world.

Cover image courtesy of Shutterstock.

By Ariel Wodarcyk on February 23, 2016
Ariel is a contributing writer for Helloflo. She is currently studying journalism at the Newhouse School of Syracuse University, and is an intern at Arts Council Napa Valley, a nonprofit arts adovacy agency. Her writing has been feautured on the Arts Council Napa Valley blog, FLURT, Naturma, and in the Napa Valley Register. You can find Ariel’s shameless self-promotion and newsy shares on Twitter.