World Hijab Day has been celebrated annually since 2013 on February 1. The movement was created by Nazam Khan, a Bangladeshi-New Yorker who desired to use this movement as an opportunity to “foster personal freedom of religious expression and cultural understanding by inviting women from all walks of life to experience the hijab for one day”.

Ameenah Steede has advocated for this movement here in Bermuda. Having joined the Muslim faith at the age of 16 with her family, Ms Steede’s relationship and understanding of the hijab and hair-covering has been an “evolution” over 40 years.

Ms Steede explained the word hijab means “modest dress”. It is a value that she incorporates into her daily lifestyle and she has worked to educate the public on the subject.

A teacher at The Berkeley Institute, Ms Steede taught the “Comparative Religion and Ethics” course in 2016. She invited staff and students to experience and participate in the movement, and wrapped the heads of those who chose to participate, repeated this several times since.

She followed up success in the school, by leading the effort to bring the experience to a broader section of the community. She said: “Last year, I decided I wanted to take it to the streets. Nothing very elaborate, just something very simple at Victoria Park to test the water, and I thought I would do it again next year,” said Ms Steede.

Ms Steede and a group of Muslim sisters brought together a year ago, known as the Bermuda Hijab Dawah Team, embarked on making this a reality for World Hijab Day 2024.

Ms Steede said: “We call ourselves the Bermuda Hijab Dawah Team because it is a sisters’ group. We are trying to spread Islam, to enlighten people about Islam, educate about Islam in any way we can.”

On February 3, the Bermuda Hijab Dawah Team staged an event at Victoria Park to “celebrate women around the world who choose” to wear the hijab. They invited all comers to “help us break stereotypes and shatter boundaries by joining us for an interactive session and [to] try on a headscarf”.

“We are just trying to spread awareness and tolerance,” Ms Steede said. “Awareness in the form of knowledge because knowledge dispels darkness and ignorance. And so if darkness and ignorance are dispelled through light, then there will be more harmony.”

She added: “In Bermuda, the Muslim community, we are well accepted; we are a part of the fabric of Bermuda. We are mothers and fathers, government employees, teachers, engineers, and bus drivers; we work in every facet of Bermudian society.

“We are your neighbours, and we don’t cause any trouble or problems; we seem to be readily accepted because, for the most part, Bermudians are a wonderful, hospitable, friendly people, but there is still a lack of knowledge, so we want to spread awareness.”

Reflecting on the event, Ms Steede said: “We may have had 15 to 20 people attend. They either saw it on the Bermuda Muslim portal [on Instagram] or saw the banners strategically placed.

“It appeared that everyone who came was very interested. We had beautiful coloured scarves; we took pictures, we had frames for people to take pictures in, we had Henna and snacks.

“Next year, we hope to add to that, make it more community-friendly, a little bigger, and more friendly for children, adding more child-friendly activities, and perhaps have it indoors.”

Ms Steede said her quest to advocate for her faith and encourage community members to learn more, will continue.

“Islam is a fascinating religion; we have an interesting way of life,” she said. “It is intellectually stimulating. For those who are intellectual, you might want to pick up a couple of books about Islam and read them; it would give you a thirst for knowledge.

“And if you already have a thirst for knowledge, it will quench that thirst, and it will stimulate you spiritually. It has been 40-plus years, and I am still over the moon about this wonderful, peaceful way of life.”