Yes, you heard right.
Around one minute and twenty seconds into the new trailer for Season four of “Orange Is The New Black,” you see a beautiful black woman in an orange prison uniform and a black hijab (Islamic headscarf).
As a hijabi myself, I was actually quite shocked when I watched the video. I had to do a double take and replay the video just to make sure what I saw was real.
Maybe she’s just wearing a scarf over her head for some reason besides religion, I thought.
Well, I continued watching the trailer and to my surprise yet again I saw the same woman, this time outdoors, but I was now 90 percent positive she was wearing a hijab.
I paused the video again to pay special attention to the way the black piece of cloth was symmetrically wrapped around her head and neck and carefully tucked around and under her prison uniform. Yep, that's a hijab.
To be honest, I was very shocked at the sight of a hijab-wearing character on a show as popular as OITNB. I wasn’t shocked in a negative way. It was more of a, “Whoa, they’re finally representing my people on mainstream media,”type of shock.
However, after I got over it, I realized what this means for the hijabi community in the Western world.
The addition of a hijab-donning character on "Orange Is The New Black" really shows just how diverse the cast has become. It’s a realistic addition to the cast because it shows that even Muslim women, who are commonly perceived as oppressed, submissive and obedient individuals, are capable of breaking the law and landing themselves in prison.
There’s also another misconception that hijabis only cover up to prevent males from sexualizing them. However, this new character chooses to keep her hijab on even though she's in a women’s prison. There might be a few male security guards here and there, but the trailer shows her in her bunk wearing the hijab. It is evident that she is not covering up to “restrain men from flirting with her," because if she was, she wouldn't really have to wear a hijab in a women's prison.
It’s a false stigmatization of hijab-wearing women (and of women who wear the niqab, burqa, or other Islamic wear) because many of them, especially in predominantly Muslim countries, are still sexually harassed while covered, whether it be physically or verbally. I’ve written a piece on why I wear the hijab that highlights the many reasons some Muslim women choose to cover up, and I can assure you, they do not cover up because of men.
Overall, I was pretty happy to see a woman in a hijab on mainstream entertainment. It's a great move that shows Muslim women are just like everyone else. We can also get in trouble and end up in prison while staying faithful to a God. It's not abnormal to follow some rules while breaking others.
Season four of "Orange Is The New Black" premieres on June 17 on Netflix. You can catch the diverse, action, drama and comedy-packed series from the convenience of your laptop or phone and judge for yourself whether the hijab-wearing inmate is a good addition to the show or not. If she is represented correctly, I have a feeling you'll learn a lot of new things about her religion.
