Last Wednesday evening, I sat in the Multicultural Center surrounded by female Marquette students and staff members with colorful scarves on their heads. Most women's hair and ears were not visible. We had all chosen to wear Hijab that day.

That morning, I had woken up and dressed pretty much how I do every day, except that I added a scarf that completely covered my head. Looking in the mirror, I wrapped my brown hair in a purple scarf, the way I had learned to do from the previous day's Hijab wrapping workshop. Only my face and hands were visible.

I participated in "Hijab for a Day," an event organized by the Muslim Student Association, calling non-Muslim women as well as Muslim women who do not daily wear Hijab to cover themselves the way many practicing Muslim women do every day.

Both at the workshop and the Wednesday night discussion, it was made clear by MSA members that wearing Hijab is meant to demonstrate modesty, to keep one's mind on God rather than oneself and to encourage people to focus on each other's character rather than each other's appearances.

"(When you wear Hijab,) people look beyond physical appearance and get to know truly who you are," said Zara Tahir, a Muslim woman who spoke at the discussion and wears Hijab daily.

Going to classes in my Hijab, I felt unknown to more people than usual. I wondered how my hair and ears could so strongly distract people from getting to know who I am. Walking past people on the street, most people with whom I would have usually exchanged greetings looked past me, and those I said "hi" to looked confused at first glance.

While in class, I felt that perhaps people may have given my new look a second thought, but for the most part classes carried on like normal. One of my professors shouted, "I like your Hijab!" across the lecture hall when she got to my name on the attendance list.

So did I learn a huge lesson? Did I feel more respected? Did I feel discriminated against? Did I feel oppressed? These were all questions I contemplated during the Wednesday night discussion session, and truthfully I cannot fully answer.

Tahir informed us of the rights of women, according to the Quran, the Muslim holy book which is said to be divinely inspired and written by the prophet Mohammed.

I was impressed to find out that the Quran expresses equal rights for women and men, though both are said to have different obligations in a familial setting. Men are to provide for the family financially, while women are to take care of the home and children. However, women are also encouraged to have a career and do what they desire to outside of the home as long as their obligations at home are met.

After hearing that the Quran does not condone male dominance of any sort, Tahir asked us if wearing the Hijab meant that Muslim women lack freedom. Before hearing these rights and freely choosing myself to wear Hijab, I might have said 'yes.' However, I don't necessarily think Muslim women give up freedom when they cover themselves. Rather, many seem to be liberated by doing so.

Wearing the Hijab is a choice and reflects the personal spiritual relationship of a Muslim woman with God, and I could see that many Muslim students at Marquette benefit spiritually from wearing Hijab daily, and I respect that.

As a Christian who chose to wear Hijab for a single day, I personally feel that wearing a scarf on my head is not necessary for my spiritual journey, and I struggle with the aspect of modesty that comes from wearing Hijab.

It was brought up at the discussion that too much emphasis is placed on the appearance of women in the media — from bare female bodies on magazine covers, to mini skirts and tiny tops popular in today's fashion. Women most often in the media are seen for their appearance and not much else, it was said.

Both men and women should cringe at the exploitive and raw ways women's bodies are seen in today. I agree that this is both true and wrong, but I don't think the problem with our society is letting my hair show every day.

As was expressed by the MSA, the benefit of wearing Hijab is that it changes the emphasis from female appearance to intellect. However, is the only way of achieving a healthier outlook of women to keep my hair from the light of day?