Title: Hajara the Hijabie
Author: Kifaya Ajibade-Bakare
Reviewer: Fatima Ololade
There is nothing cuter concerning the age-long peer pressure dynamics, especially the new-normal Japa syndrome that most Nigerian families are susceptible to, that ‘Hajara The Hijabie’ by Kifayah Ajibade-Bakare does not address.
In fifteen chapters, the book addresses the cluster of uncertainties and anxieties triggered by the protagonist’s reality as she leaves familiar neighbourhoods to explore fresh possibilities in a new school, leaving behind her childhood friend, Fareeda, to befriend new acquaintances Sara and Nadra in faraway Canada.
Against the backdrop of impassioned debate on the physical and emotional challenges experienced by Nigerian adolescents in foreign lands, Ajibade-Bakare transitions effortlessly from writing educational picture books to her debut Islamic novel which focuses on a Muslim teenager, Hajara, whose love for hijabs and modest attires – as prescribed by her religion – riles her ardent provocateurs, Rhoda, Clara, Tiffany and Nadra.
The quartet makes up the ‘MPP squad’ which Hajara eventually joins. Their frequent face-off with Hajara, however, raises crucial posers on conflicting issues bordering on religion, culture, norms, fashion, etiquette, acceptance, stereotyping, labelling, and family support, among others, in Canada.
These themes are stirred by the cover design, appealing to the emotions of teenage girls, and the cultural diversity in Nigeria, and Canada.
Like every other teenager who seeks to explore hidden curiosities and inspire exciting narratives about her life, Hajara gets to live the life of her dreams and must deal with the challenges of transitioning between her innate values and the social codes of her peer group and new society.
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After experiencing an awkward moment with Rhoda, the Queen Bee of the MPP, she finds it uneasy to settle into the life and character required of her as a member of the MPP squad. The requirements of belonging to the group conflict with her religious beliefs.
Thereby, the book glorifies the roles of parents in raising their children with required Islamic teachings as a perquisite and precondition of ushering them through character formation and growth through the most pleasant and traumatic phases of life.
The book highlights both the latent and established traumas experienced by youngsters as they push through adolescence and the amazing experiences that inspire them to become a better version of themselves.
It highlights the benefits of not succumbing to peer pressure in the search for true self-worth. It also does a fine job of highlighting the crucial and appreciable roles of positive social agents played by wonderful characters in the persons of Hajara’s friends, Fareeda, Sara, and Nadra. The latter’s courage manifests in the final part of the book.
At its core, Hajara The Hijabie, alludes to the gallantry and foresight of Muslim parents in building a comfortable relationship and finding solace in Allah(SWT) no matter their state of transgression, making sincere repentance a step to becoming a non-reneging adult.
This is a story about morals and religious choices; it highlights those compromises that no human being should ever be forced to make and rather establishes the benefits of being guided by humane morality. Ajibade-Bakare’s poetic nuance on forgiveness resonates like a final salve burnishing the overall thrust of the book.
The beautiful chills that engulf the reader at the denouement of the finely spun yarn further attest to Ajibade-Bakare’s depth as a writer who unfurls fully evolved. Her narrative depth and affinity for poetic justice bristles through her presentation of both mundane and pivotal turns in the book.
Written in simple yet compelling language, Hajara, the Hijabie awakens young minds to peer pressure management anywhere in the world and painstakingly details how to navigate the shoals of challenges on every teenager’s path to moral blooming and self-realisation.