Veiled Actress Hajar Brown Speaks Out on Racism and Islamophobia in Entertainment Industry

Hajar Brown, 27, is participating in the Mulleres na cima conference, organized by the Araguaney Puente de Culturas Foundation, the USC and the city of Santiago de Compostela. The one who was revealed in the SKAM series, before becoming a model and influencer on social networks, spoke on this occasion about the racist situations she has experienced because of her veil and her Muslim religion. "I experience discrimination and difficult situations... But in the end, it’s proof that this fight is worth fighting to change mentalities. I try to convey what I live through to people to whom what I say may seem foreign," Hajar told El Español.

And she adds: "Social networks are the key to everything for me. They opened the doors to the world of work, knowledge, travel... My social networks are like my keys and I don’t want to lose them. Since I started speaking out on social networks, I feel less censored, less embarrassed. I manage this space of freedom and I feel completely myself. Those who follow me do so because they appreciate my discourse and not because I’m pretty or not... I’m not just a discourse, I’m not just a veil, I’m not just Islamic feminism, politics... I try to go beyond this barrier that is involuntarily established."

The young actress wonders if she needs to be "normal" to be accepted, because wearing the veil, which makes her "different" from others, "weighs a lot" in how others perceive her. "Many people want to know why we wear the veil and why we have chosen to live this way. When we explain it to them, they see that we have a normal social life, a bit like other women my age," explains the young woman, who also mentions some examples of discrimination she suffers on a daily basis. "You get on the bus with your veil and you see how everyone puts away their belongings so that you don’t sit next to them, because no one wants to sit with you except the children," denounces Hajar.

The actress also talks about a teacher who "makes rude comments to you simply because he doesn’t understand why you wear a headscarf." "Sometimes, when someone looks at me on the subway, I wonder if they’re looking at me because they’re racist or because they know me," she specifies, adding that she also continues to face discrimination during castings. "I always apply for castings but most of them haven’t paid off so far. So for now, I’m working as a consultant and analyst on several audiovisual projects that talk about Islamophobia. It’s a facet that comforts me a lot because it can be useful."