Hi, BTN. My name is Itrat.
I'm 12 years old and I was born in Pakistan.
I moved to Australia with my parents
and my four little brothers as a refugee one year ago.
If you hadn't already noticed, I'm wearing something on my head.
It's called a hijab.
It's a scarf that covers my head and neck.
It's worn by lots of Muslim girls and women all around the world.
Muslim means we follow the religion of Islam.
A long time ago,
we had a prophet... (SPEAKS IN ARABIC)
His wife, and his daughter, they were wearing scarves,
and after that, like, every Muslim started to wear scarves.
You've probably seen some other kinds of Muslim headscarves too,
like the niqab, which looks like this.
Or the burka, which looks like this.
But the most common one you'll see in Australia
is the hijab, like I wear.
I wear my scarf every day, except at night when I'm sleeping.
My favourite one is this one, guys.
You don't even know. This is so pretty.
When I'm wearing this, I'm just going...
Like, when I'm going to a wedding, I'm just wearing this one.
In some Islamic countries,
women have to wear a hijab in public because it's the law.
But in most countries, including Australia,
it's more of a choice.
Not every Muslim girl wears one, but I choose to.
I choose to wear a hijab because it's my cultural thing,
and if I don't wear a hijab, because the other Muslim girls,
they're wearing hijabs, and if I don't,
it looks a little bit weird.
And I love my hijab that I'm wearing.
My friend Hadia chooses not to wear one all the time.
Hadia, why don't you sometimes wear a scarf?
It's really hard for me to wear a scarf.
My mom has given me two choices - if I want, if I don't want.
But it's really hard. It's hard. My hair is so long.
That's why I can't wear a scarf.
My hijab doesn't stop me from doing anything
like playing sport.
I love soccer.
I think it's sad that sometimes people
talk about hijabs like they're bad things.
Some people, they're, like, mean, or, like, not understanding us,
and, yeah, they're saying, like, "Why are you wearing a scarf?"
And it feels really upset and, like, they are upsetting,
like, our friends or my mum, or me.
Sometimes other kids ask us about our hijabs.
We don't mind talking about it,
as long as they're being respectful.
It's just kind of, like, upsetting when they say,
"Why do you wear a scarf?
"Is it because you have, like, head lice or something?"
It makes me get kind of upset.
If some people want to say that, "Why are you wearing a scarf?"
say it a nice way and be accepting.
Luckily, I feel accepted by everyone in Australia,
especially when I'm at school.
I hope you learned a little more about me and my headscarf today.
And next time I hope you see someone wearing one,
I hope you give them a smile.