Amidst all nationalities… I found a new meaning for modesty.

A huge airport… crowded, flight screens, announcements in incomprehensible languages.

I’m there alone, the first time I’ve traveled and moved between countries while wearing my full abaya and long khimar.
The metal chair is cold… The entire hall is filled with the colors of life except for me, black and quiet amidst the international noise.

I put my hand on my bag and flipped through my passport…
I asked myself:
“Do people really see me as a stranger?
Or am I the one who burdens them more than I deserve?
If they don’t like my outfit… why are all their eyes on me?”

I looked around…
A small child in his mother’s arms stared at me as if I were from another planet.
A young European woman, taking a selfie and laughing with her friends, spotted me and gestured lightly.
A man with a white beard smiled at me affectionately…
I didn’t know what to feel: fear?
tension?
or a small pride growing with every minute?

A foreign woman interrupted my thoughts in the middle of Age.
Her hair was tied back, and her dress was simple but chic.
She sat next to me, approached me politely, and asked me in broken English:
— “Where are you from? Why are you dressed like this? I always see your clothes and feel it’s a secret…”

I hesitated for a moment, then said:
— “I’m from Egypt… and this is my Islamic dress. I choose it every day, even though it’s not always the easiest.”

She said to me:
— “I used to be very religious, but then I was afraid of people’s judgment, so I changed everything… Now I feel lost.”

I was silent for a moment, and I felt a strange strength inside me.

I said to her:
— “You know, sometimes wearing Islamic clothing makes me feel weak or strange… but in reality, it’s the thing that gives me the most security and confidence, because it expresses me, not them.

Even if it breaks a hundred times, every time I stand in the middle of the world’s hustle and bustle, it builds a small pillar of light inside my heart.”

The woman smiled. With tears in my eyes:
— “I wish I had the courage to choose myself again…”

We were silent.

The silence was full of understanding and love, even though each of us came from a different continent.

I walked towards the departure gate…
With every step, I felt that I wasn’t just traveling from one country to another,
I was sending an unwritten message:
“A girl with principles, even if she’s alone, is stronger than a thousand trends.”

As I boarded the plane, I wished all girls would know:
You don’t need people’s approval to be “beautiful.”
Costume isn’t weakness…
Nor is loneliness abroad shameful.
There’s always an eye in the middle of a crowd that sees you right, and a stranger’s heart that will learn something from you.

If you’ve ever experienced traveling abroad or wearing your Islamic dress and felt afraid or lonely…
Tell us a moment or situation that changed your view of yourself.
Or send us a message or a photo that made you feel proud of your dress, even while abroad—
and we’ll gather them together Some in “The Album of Oswa Around the World.”
Your words today could be a source of support for a girl still standing, confused, in the middle of an airport traffic jam or surrounded by strange eyes…

Do you think you’re alone? You’re always a role model for someone else, even if you can’t see them!