By Prisca Sam-Duru

‘Hajara The Hijabie’ is KifayahAjibade-Bakare’s new novel for children. Ajibade-Bakare, writer, and publisher of children’s books, proves in the book how passionate she is about assisting children overcome pressures that arise due to differences in culture and identity. With over five years of experience, she has written lots of books to inspire Muslim kids.

Published in Lagos, Nigeria by Deen Love World, the 162-page book with fifteen chapters addresses the raging silent war between religion and modernism. Irrespective of the fact that the author chose to write from her background as a Muslim, the book written in first person narrative, thematically explores varied themes of religion, culture, identity, family, friendship, bullying, and migration.

In recent times, what has now come to be known as the Japa syndrome, has seen Nigerians migrating to foreign countries in droves. The flight in search of greener pastures has been attributed largely to socio-economic challenges plaguing the country.

In the case of Hajara Lawani, popularly known as H-Square by her friends at Farah Secondary Schools, Lagos, whom the plot of the novel revolves around, the japa phenomenon almost changed her life and faith as a devout Muslim.

Her father has just been offered a new job in Manitoba, Canada and that means relocating. This is the kind of news every Nigerian child or youth would be so enthused about just like Hajara’s brother Habeeb. But for H-Square, aside from the pain of leaving her bestie, she is heavily burdened about whether she will be able to blend in with other students in school as a hijab freak. This means abandoning her perfect world and comfort zone. “…I, on the other hand, felt a wave of shock, then confusion, and some streaks of curiosity, then finally sad at the realisation of what this meant for me, my identity, my hijab! What would they think of me there? Will I go to a new school? Will I fit in? What about my friends here? What about Fareeda? My school? And in fact, my perfect world?!”

Her worries and trepidations notwithstanding, H-Square finds herself in Canada with her family, leaving behind her dear friend Fareeda.

As expected, moving to Canada hits the young girl with lots of challenges. She sees herself as the only student who dresses differently in the whole school. Most disturbingly, she has the four Most Popular and Pretty, MPP girls in her school- River Hill, to contend with. The culture shock is unimaginable! Being black as well as a hijab freak, makes blending an uphill task. Being portrayed in the story as a staunch Muslim girl, Hajara makes every effort to resist the impact of bullying by the MPP girls. She finds encouragement in her friendship with Sara, a Moroccan student.

The need for acceptance and inclusion gets her finally broken. After a sad experience with the leader of the MPPs, Rhoda, H-Square thinks, “Maybe she’s right, Maybe I do look ridiculous.” Continuing her story she said, “I stared at my reflection, no longer seeing the vibrant, confident Hajara I knew and loved, but instead, a girl who was struggling to fit in, feeling like a foreigner in her own skin.” She sees herself lying to her mother and doing things she never thought of just to be accepted by the four ‘musketeers’. She becomes the fifth MPP girl.

Her faith and beliefs coupled with her friendship with Sara however come to the rescue. Subsequently, she finds her voice through what she is passionate about- poetry. Through her award-winning poem titled

‘Beyond the Veil’, she chronicles her battle to maintain her identity and how she pulls through.

The book most importantly, underscores the huge relevance of parents or guardians in the upbringing of children. Mothers especially are to be their daughters’ best friends and confidants. Aside from the part Sara, Fareeda, and Nadra (former MPP girl) played in Hajara’s recovery, her confiding in her mother helped her break through.

The book also highlights that one does not necessarily need to change one’s culture, faith, and identity to excel.

With an attractive front cover design and an interesting storyline that helps children overcome bullying, ‘Hajara the Hijabie’ makes an interesting read even to non-Muslims.