Roslyn Carrington
Hijabista Naballah Chi's influence is fast becoming felt in the fashion community, particularly among Muslim women who share her belief that the hijab doesn't need to be drab or boring. She heads off criticism of her peacock colours and stylish accessories by suggesting that, far from making her stand out, her fashion choices actually help her to blend in. "A lot of people say that wearing too many colours would attract too much attention, but I think I would attract a lot more attention if I wore all black."
Her colours probably served her in good stead, as they were what first caught the eye of the Belize native who was to become her husband. "We met at UWI. I was passing the Centre for Language Learning when he stopped to talk to me. He found I looked different from other Muslim women. I was the first he had seen at UWI who was so colourful ... I even had on coloured contacts."
Born into Islam to parents who had converted from Christianity, she is the eldest of four children. Her degree at UWI was Communications Studies, with a minor in International Relations. "I love world affairs, what's going on in the world. I've always been good at writing, creating things, especially with my hands. I'm very artistic." Even so, she had been part of the science stream in high school. "But it wasn't my thing. I felt like I was struggling."
Chi started her fashion blog while at UWI as a school project for Communications Studies. She dropped it for a while, but resumed it in 2013. It was self-titled: Naballah Chi. "I wanted a place where I could share my fashion photography and my styling, and give advice. People asked me questions on how to tie the hijab, and that's how my YouTube channel was born." Chi's channel and her blog now go hand in hand. "I became very passionate about it. I couldn't wait to try new styles. It's like my photo diary."
She inherited her eye for design from her parents, who were once a team that produced both Islamic and secular clothing. "He did the designs, and my mom was the seamstress. It trickled down."
Chi is currently enrolled in UTT's fashion design programme but took a leave of absence to pursue several travel opportunities, including a two-year jaunt through Central and South America with her husband. "We visited Belize, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala ... it broadened my horizons. I saw the world differently. It was so different. I had culture shock." As an example, she described the practice in Belize of pouring Coca Cola into plastic bags for sale. "It's cheaper that way. You have to drink all; you can't rest it down and come back later."
She has also represented T&T at the 2014 Miss World Muslimah Award competition in Indonesia, where, as reported in the T&T Guardian women's lifestyle supplement WOW on January 4, she rode pillion on a motorbike in Jakarta, rode a Sumatran elephant, and had a pedicure performed by tiny fishes.
As open-minded and forward-thinking as she is, she sometimes finds herself exposed to ignorance and prejudice right here at home, and through her activities and the way she lives her life, she seeks to correct misconceptions. "As a Muslim woman, I am not restricted by my faith or beliefs. A lot of people think so, and I don't like that. We have boundaries and there is nothing wrong with that. We enjoy ourselves within limits; if everything was free of limits, there would be chaos. But as a Muslim woman I can achieve anything I put my mind to. My hijab doesn't bar me from that."
She also scoffs at the idea that she has given her rights up to her husband. 'I have rights as a wife, and my husband has his rights. I compromise with my husband, as anyone else in a relationship would."
This May, her blog gained international notice when she was contacted by a BBC journalist to take part in a radio programme called The Conversation on the BBC World Service, in which two women from different parts of the world are brought together to discuss an issue of mutual interest. Her counterpart, Hidaya Mohammed, was from Malaysia, but was studying in Japan. The segment was called Hijabistas, and focused on their lives as Muslim women from different parts of the world.
What did she learn from the experience? "Sometimes you think you're alone, but your obstacles may be something others experience in other parts of the world, but everybody faces the same prejudices and stereotypes."
A passionate footballer, she remembers being rejected from her school football team because she refused to remove her hijab. "The coach said you have to take 'that thing' off your head. It's hurtful, because my hijab is an extension of who I am. If you grow up wearing it, it's all you know. I think, you don't even understand why I'm wearing it, but you want me to take it off?"
But she has no time for self-doubt. "I'm grounded in my beliefs, and I don't let anyone persuade me otherwise. I know what I want."
Naballah's style online
Check out her blog: naballahchi.blogspot.com/
Visit her YouTube channel: youtube.com/user/naballahchi
?Check out her Facebook page: facebook.com/nabsmuhammad