Like/Life

“I want to show that Muslim fashion is something that goes beyond the boundaries of religion and that anyone can empathize with and enjoy it.”

By Saori Ibuki and Kassy Cho

Although her Indonesian Muslim parents never pressured her to wear a hijab, Rahmalia Aufa Yazid always figured that she would eventually end up wearing one.

Born and raised in Tokyo, she initially didn’t feel that strongly about Islam, so she had followed her parents’ lead when it came to the religion.

When she finally decided to put on a hijab at age 18, it felt impersonal to her, and Yazid struggled with dressing in it.

Although her Indonesian Muslim parents never pressured her to wear a hijab, Rahmalia Aufa Yazid always figured that she would eventually end up wearing one.

Born and raised in Tokyo, she initially didn’t feel that strongly about Islam, so she had followed her parents’ lead when it came to the religion.

When she finally decided to put on a hijab at age 18, it felt impersonal to her, and Yazid struggled with dressing in it.

“I felt that the hijab was a religious item of clothing, so I was choosing my clothes to match,” the 24-year-old freelance creator, who posts under her Instagram handle @aufatokyo, told BuzzFeed News.

As a result, she found herself missing out on popular Japanese fashion trends and feeling out of place in school, where she was the only hijabi student in her major.

“Not only did I stand out as someone with foreign heritage, my daily outfits now consisted of my mother’s old hijab and outfits that were totally different from designs and colors that were popular in Japan at the time,” she said.

“Although it was my choice to wear the hijab, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel as though the hijab was, instead, wearing me,” she said.

All that changed when she encountered the work of Hana Tajima, a mixed-race British and Japanese designer who converted to Islam in her teens.

It was only after she saw Tajima’s Uniqlo modest wear collection that Yazid realized modest fashion didn’t have to feel out of place in the streets of Tokyo.

“Her fashion didn’t feel like it was trying to be particularly gorgeous, vivid, or even traditional,” Yazid said.

“That was the moment the hijab changed from an impersonal, religious item of clothing to something that was true to my life,“ she added.

Yazid now combines Muslim and Japanese fashions in the city of Tokyo, sharing her self-portraits on her Instagram to her 14,000 followers.

She calls Tokyo a “cold and restless city,” where people dress in neutral colors of black, white, beige, and khaki and where bright colors and striking patterns are rare.

She styles her hijab the way that Japanese people style their hair — to match their outfit and mood for the day.

Just as Japanese people vary their hairstyles, from straight to bobbed, wavy to short haircuts, Yazid uses different colors, materials, and wrapping methods to switch up her look.

For example, the hijab can be wrapped asymmetrically to create an effect that’s similar to that of bangs being swept to one side, she said.

“I also add accessories to create a more lively look,” she said. “I like hats, so I often wear a beret over the hijab.”

For Yazid, Islam’s restrictions against women showing skin is the part she enjoys most about fashion.

Because hijabi fashion doesn’t allow women to show off their neck, legs, or figures, it’s a lot more difficult to come up with an outfit that still achieves an overall balance, she said.

“But for me, that’s part of the fun,” she said. “It’s like solving a puzzle.”

Her work has led to an increased sense of her pride in her Muslim faith in a country where Muslims are a small minority, she said.

Yazid said she wants to use her work to show people that they can wear a hijab, live a normal life, and not look out of place in the city.

Since then, she said she’s received many comments from people who said they’re inspired by her work.

Some of them have begun wearing hijabs, while others have told her they want to learn more about Islam.

“Hijabi fashion — Muslim fashion — transcends the boundaries of religion and can be a source of enjoyment for anyone,” she said. “It’s something that all women who want to look beautiful with can empathize with and enjoy.”

She added, “I want to use what I do to improve people’s understanding of Muslims, change biased views about the religion, and help people realize the value of living in a diverse society.“

I hadn’t heard that! Ive only ever seen poems and stuff from her that is about her attraction to women. I would definitely like to read more on this and see what I can find on the subject! If anyone has anymore info, I’d love to know!

(Even if Sappho was bi, I firmly believe she wouldnt put up with excluding lesbians from anything!!!)

SHE SAID WHAT NEEDED TO BE SAID

… only to have their care stripped from them placing them back in the same miserable living conditions that hurt them so much in the past because the government decided disabled people aren’t allowed to make themselves comfortable.

My total benefits were only £750 a month and now my total household income is £270 and I can’t afford anyone to help me.

The government have fucked me over because I was able to function on my own for short periods of time because I had help most of the time.

Step ONE:

find a post on the profile that either glorifies Hitler OR calls to kill gay people. Copy its permalink.

If you send the staff a post that is simply bigoted nothing will happen. You need to find a post that very clearly incites or glorifies violence or glorifies Hitler because in order for this to be effective it needs to fit tumblrs definition of terrorism.

Step TWO:

Reporting

Report them for terrorism. Because the problem is the fact that they are organized we cannot risk getting them reported as individual threats of violence or hate speech.

I repeat, always report as suspected terrorism

Once you are in tumblr will try to trick you into reporting it as hate speech (which will not be effective) or simply reporting the post on its own (which will only get the one post taken down).

Always pick one of the middle two! That’s when tumblr has to start notifying authorities if the report is deemed to be real and true.

Step THREE:

Write in the description portion how it makes you feel unsafe and how the post and the tag in question threaten the safety of yourself and others.

Cant come up with anything?

Just copy paste this:

Ban the #norainbowflagsforfags tag. There is a group of people rebloging lgbt content, adding various calls to violence against “fags”, saying that gays need sent to the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Please, listen to your users and ban the ip addresses and call the fbi, because the lgbt+ fear our rights and our lives are at stake.