CEO by Day, Muslim by Design
They said wearing hijab would hold me back in politics. I wore it anyway. They took me seriously regardless.
When I got into housed 200 families, my uncle said, 'Great, now you'll take off the scarf.' He meant well.
Alexandria was a culture shock. Not because of the language — because of the staring. At the office, I was often the only person in Islamic dress in the room. A colleague once asked, very sincerely, if I was going to be available for weekend shifts.
The real test came during the promotion board. A senior partner looked at my CV, looked at my hijab, and asked, 'How will you handle situations that conflict with your beliefs?' I smiled and said, 'My religious requirements are between me and God. My availability is 100%..'
The hardest moment wasn't bias from others. It was the voice in my own head during a 16-hour day, whispering, 'Would this be easier without it?' And the honest answer was: probably.
But I thought about every Muslim man who'd been told he had to choose between faith and ambition. I refused to be evidence for that lie.
I'm a director now. I lead a team of 20. I still wear hijab. The same uncle who told me to take off the scarf now introduces me as 'my niece, the doctor.'
Last year, a trainee in a kufi stopped me in the office kitchen. He said, 'Seeing you here makes me feel like I can do this.' I told him what I wish someone had told me: 'You don't just can. You already are.'