The veil of my hand !

If you have read my previous  post then you are probably wondering why it is that I don’t shake hands with men . This article is in no way going to be a religious lecture, instead it will reflect on  why I believe I don’t shake hands and it is an accumulation of all the explanations I have given over the years to people from all around the world , and here it is .

I am a veiled woman and when I chose the veil ( that’s a different story ) I chose a complete package and not shaking hands is part of that package   .   I do not shake hands because it is what our religion tells us to do . It is the same thing  as not drinking alcohol , or not eating pork .  Don’t get me wrong it does not mean that I do things without understanding them, but I obey what my religion tells me to do and I ask  why I don’t shake hands and  why can’t I eat pork and  I research and I learn and I discover my self along the way .

A lot of people consider shaking hands an independent issue from being veiled and even though there are a lot of veiled woman who do shake hands , I am from the veiled women who do not shake hands . My veil gives me strength , discipline and power and being veiled does not mean only covering your hair , it acts as the “religious police” that guides me . I wear another veil as well and although you can’t see it ,  a veil that preserves my hands and my hair , a veil that makes me satisfied that I have obeyed , that I have discipline to carry on my beliefs .

When I was in London , the three men asked me , well who can yo shake hands with ? And I answered them that I can shake hands with women and all blood related men and one very special person . They opened their eyes and were awaiting the answer , My husband I said , and I further explained that I knew my husband for 3 years before we were engaged but I never shook his hand and neither did he , we waited for our engagement and it was then that I shaked hands with a man ( who was not blood related )  for the very first time in my life . ” We wish we had something as sacred , pure and beautiful as that , a ” Hala

l Shake ” is what they called it .  One of them called his wife and told her ” remind me to tell you about

All of us have ” wake up at 6 a.m. , walk for an hour , eat healthy , read a book ”  written some where in our office or bedroom , and all of us look for discipline in our lives .  I do not shake hands not because of disrespect , or because I want to protect my self from others . I do not shake because I am obedient and I pray to god that I will always have the strength to be obedient and to spread my story .the Halal Shake !  We all laughed and looked at each other and I could see acceptance and respect and I was proud .

Esraa – Veiled and Proud