May 23, 2018

Life and Work with Maria Gulamhusein

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Gulamhusein.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Maria. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

My Rida to me is empowering

I have been brought up in Sweden. A country that is known for its nature and sceneries. A place that has given me the freedom to shape myself into who I am today. I have always been eager to learn new things I have let my curiosity to run wild and it has brought me here. The desire to learn and gain knowledge has opened many doors both spiritually and physically. Fast forward 22 years, I have always been into questions regarding humanity and I knew from an early age that I wanted to work within this field of study. Today I’m doing my bachelors in social work and psychology as well as studying international relations and working alongside it. In 2017 I was chosen to become one of the ambassadors for Agenda 2030 at UN in Sweden. As an Ambassador for agenda 2030, I have been doing seminars with several schools and organizations, spreading awareness in regards to poverty and hunger, human rights, achieving gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls, as well as ensuring lasting protection for the planet and its natural resources. I love what I do and what I’m part of. I can proudly say that the best part about this is that I have achieved all this in my Rida. This piece of clothing has given me confidence in everything. Rida is a bright colorful hijab that has a touch of a veil. At a young age, I was drawn to fashion and photography. Fashion for me is deeper, It’s authentic and natural. There are no rules set, you can be yourself and express it with your clothing because that’s what really matters, every piece matters. That is what I love.

There came a point in my life where I wanted to share my passion with the world and here I am, doing exactly that. In my blog and Instagram, I show my dressing and how I portray modesty while still being covered. I want to encourage young people and elders to not let anything get in their way especially in the way you decide to dress. The way you choose to dress represents who you are where you come from and its nothing to be ashamed of. The Rida does not only represent you but also who you are and what you do.For me, it’s not just a way of dressing. When someone looks at me I don’t want them to focus solely on what I’m wearing but I want them to see the person behind it. I want to make a statement through the way I dress, it is I who is in charge of it. Behind this outward appearance, I am a person and it is this person for which I want to be known for. My Rida to me is empowering. The Rida is not just fabric and laces it is much more than that it carries decades and decades of history. Wearing the Rida has given me an awareness of this.

Has it been a smooth road?

It would be a lie to say I haven’t faced any obstacles. I believe people will face obstacles no matter what they dress or do it’s just a part of getting to know yourself by the way you decide to deal with it. So to answer the question, yes based on the bigotry some people have about Muslim women, there were times when looking for a job, or socializing where I thought I’d be judged. There were times I had to justify that I could indeed work in my Rida. But then there came a day where I made a decision that this is not what I want to do all my life. Instead of trying to justify to people that I indeed can work in my Rida I told myself that if it’s meant for me I’ll get what I want. If I want to work anywhere then I’ll get it based on my personality and drive and not for what I choose to wear.
What I’d like to tell everyone is that; take your time, do it with your heart and don’t half-heart it, stay committed. You are doing this for yourself and not for the public. It might be a long journey to get there but strive for it and surround yourself with people who encourage you and support you for being you; be confident in your skin and in your way of dressing.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Maria Gulamhusein – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
That many of the aspects of attention are given to the way we look and dress and not enough attention to what we are actually saying and doing. I feel we as women will always be judged by the way we dress or present ourselves before we are seen as people and no matter what we do, won’t be good enough for the people. I wish people would focus on themselves more and support one another instead of bringing each other down. That way we will shift the attention aspects of being more supportive and listening instead of criticizing. Wanting to dress up should not be degraded to being considered a show-off or fake and dressing down doesn’t make someone lazy and pretentious. The concept of putting people down for the way they want to be is what is causing barriers to building up causing attention to go to things that shouldn’t really matter into focus instead of the initial area of focus whatever that may be.

We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, What sets you apart from others?
Apart from spreading awareness and making a change. My blog focuses on lifestyle, fashion, and skincare. I make lookbooks and talk about how I have set up the look and give tips and inspirations along the way. I would say for my blogging there isn’t anyone out there doing the exact same thing as I’m doing, Rida blogging. I love what I do, no other motives, just pure pleasure.

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