“I don’t consider myself a Hijabi.” -Ascia Al Faraj
The clothing and hairstyles used by Muslim women are the inspiration for the look that is referred to as “modest fashion.” No matter how one chooses to interpret religious precepts, the idea itself does not have any hard and fast restrictions beyond what is immediately obvious. Layering, loose silhouettes, high necklines, and garments that don’t call attention to a woman’s physical attributes are some of the most popular modest fashion trends.
Ascia Al Faraj is a fashion blogger, model, and designer residing in the country of Kuwait. She is originally from the region of the middle east. She was born on October 19, 1989, and the name of her blog, which is Ascia AKF, is by far the most well-known thing about her. She is one of the most influential bloggers and social media influencers in the middle east, and she uses her platform to raise awareness about fashion and style trends that are primarily aimed at women who dress modestly. In addition to this, she is well-known in Malaysia and Indonesia as well.
Ascia’s rise to prominence
The year 2012 witnessed the publication of Al Faraj’s debut post, which was given the title, “Some Mosaic. Some Marni.” She became significantly more well-known after cooperating with Areej Al Kharafi, the owner of a boutique in Kuwait, and as a result, she gained a lot of recognition.
During the course of her career, she has held positions at Ralph Lauren, Dior, Chanel, TAG Heuer, Net-a-Porter, and Tory Burch, among other companies. In addition to that, she is the model that Riva Fashion chooses to represent its brand.
She doesn’t consider herself a Hijabi
On July 10, 2018, Al Faraj shared a video on YouTube in which she discussed her perspectives on the importance of being modest and having faith. She stated in the video that she does not consider herself to be a hijabi and that calling herself so would be “disrespectful” to her and her faith.
She had already provided her followers with an explanation of her decision by uploading a video to her YouTube channel titled “To New Beginnings.”
The video shows Ascia without her hijab, addressing candidly to her admirers about her choice to no longer wear it while revealing her stunning, wavy hair. The Kuwaiti influencer goes on to explain that the worry she has had as a result of being in the public eye has had a bad impact on her health, thus the decision for her was highly personal, and tied to mental health, identity, and community.
“I do not consider myself to be a hijabi because I don’t feel that it is in line with the viewpoint that I have now approaching 30. It’s not the viewpoint that I think is representative of me as a person. I consider myself in the modest fashion space”. – Ascia Al Faraj
Inspiring women to do what they want
Al Faraj continues her account following the uncovering, “Covering at 19 seemed spiritually, psychologically, and physically correct. And now I’m 29… and I’ve matured so much as I’ve gotten older. I’ve left a trail of foolish ideas from other people and myself. The disparity between my identity, how I genuinely feel, and the identity I continue to project online despite having outgrown it caused me so much pain that I simply wasn’t being completely honest with myself. And it is something I would like to change.”
The decision that Ascia has made ought to serve as inspiration for other Muslim women to behave in a manner that is in accordance with their internal moral compass. They are under no obligation whatsoever to conduct themselves in accordance with the norms that society has set forth for them. They are free to do anything they want with their bodies, including placing anything they want on their bodies if they feel the urge to do so. They have complete control over their bodies and can do whatever they want with them.
