Unapologetically Muslim: Maheen Ahmed

Hijab is one of my acts of devotion and worship of Allah. Its a constant reminder to myself of my faith and is a very spiritual act to me to focus on my principles and values and cleanse the desire for societal approval from my heart. In practice, attaining this goal is not as easy as putting on the physical hijab every day (which literally isn’t very easy some days!) — I need to intentionally work towards this by refining my internal character and bettering my actions, which are also important aspects of practicing hijab. Simply put, to me it’s a physically outward act that is meant to help purify the inward. I work at the California State Capitol in the State Assembly on public policy and legislation for the State of California. As the only hijab-practicing Muslim individual in the entire Capitol, I am much more conscious of my headscarf in this environment. And just as in any prevalen