For many first-generation Americans, growing up in the West can make individuals more acutely aware of their culture and origins. For Muslim women, especially those who wear hijab, this awareness of one’s culture can interact with their faith in unique and significant ways. In “Faith and Cultural Fashion,” two USC students share the origins of their cultural clothing, as well as their journeys navigating both their faith and their culture. Both models wore similar pink outfits to showcase the community and interconnectedness they can have within their faith. Alternatively, each model also wears distinctive clothing from their culture, showing how their culture uniquely interacts with their identity.
Saran Sarah Kouyate
Saran Sarah Kouyate is a sophomore international studies and African studies double major whose parents are from West Africa. Kouyate explains that her outfit has a “brocade” design, which incorporates many embroidered flowers and patterns, each piece often completed by a tailor. Another common fabric in her culture is bazin, which is a cotton-like material with wax on it, leading to a durable and satin-like finish.
Kouyate first wore this dress to her cousin’s wedding. She explains that she does not often get a chance to wear her cultural clothing in America, outside of certain cultural or religious gatherings such as Eid.
“I love wearing my cultural dresses to Eid,” Kouyate said. “It makes me feel very pretty; it makes me feel more connected to my culture and my heritage. Because I don’t have many opportunities to wear it, it just makes me feel at home.”
Kouyate explained that growing up, her parents strongly encouraged her to build culture as the foundation of her identity. Kouyate even spent some time in Mali, continuing to learn the language and connect with her cultural origins, which she is extremely thankful for.
“That is definitely something I want to do with my kids, too,” Kouyate said. “Just make sure, ‘Yes, you’re American, but you also need to know where you come from. This is your heritage.’”
However, as Kouyate grew up, she began to form a stronger relationship with her faith than her culture. Kouyate explains that she had felt very depressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and one night while crying in bed she had a revelation to further focus on her faith. Researching more on Islam and following religious practices, like fasting and reading the Quran, allowed her to find herself.
“It really helped me move past that difficult time in my life,” Kouyate said. “I used to be so introverted, and it made me more confident and more at peace with myself.”
Kouyate explains that she now feels more connected to her faith than her culture. She often will choose not to partake in certain cultural practices as she feels they go against her beliefs, which can sometimes feel isolating. Kouyate explained that although individuals of her generation tend to understand her decisions, many of her aunties and uncles from older generations call her too young to be so religious.
“Even when I started wearing the hijab, I got a bunch of comments from people I barely talk to, calling my mom like, “Why is your daughter wearing the hijab?’—I was only fifteen, by the way—‘Like, she’s too young for that, she’s too religious, what have you done to her?’” Kouyate said.
Ultimately, Kouyate continues to navigate her relationship between her faith and culture and feels strongly about both aspects of her identity.
“I grew up with the women in my community,” Kouyate said. “They never changed to wear Western style clothing. They always wore their traditional clothing and they would wear it on a daily basis. And I see that, and I see how proud they are of their own culture, and I almost want to have the courage to emulate them.”
Aamena Shaikh
Aamena Shaikh is a sophomore biology major who is Gujarati. Shaikh explains that her cultural outfit is called a ghagra or sharara, a design of clothing in Indian culture featuring wide-legged pants. The embroidery throughout her dress was handmade, and she purchased this in a famous marketplace with her cousins when she visited India.
“When it comes to other clothes from our culture, a lot of it is handmade or custom made, so I really get to see the process of making those clothes that I really love and truly enjoy to wear,” Shaikh said. “It’s made for me, my size, my color and the people who make it—we know them. So, we have a personal connection to where it was made, who made it.”
Shaikh typically wears her cultural clothing to Indian parties, or dawats. She explains that as she has not been able to visit India often, it means a lot to her to wear her cultural clothing whenever she has the chance.
“Wearing these clothes just makes me feel closer to my culture and the family that I have,” Shaikh said.
Shaikh explains that her faith is also a very significant part of her identity. In particular, wearing the hijab had been a very monumental decision for her.
“I’m the first person in my family to actually wear hijab on a day to day basis,” Shaikh said. “None of my cousins in India wear it. It’s not part of Gujarati culture, it’s not part of Indian culture to wear a headscarf full-time like this. The friends around me that I had—they all wore the hijab, and it’s the most beautiful thing ever, but for me, at the time, [I thought] I can’t wear it, because I’m Gujarati.”
Shaikh explained that she sometimes feels a disconnect between her religion and culture. She recounted an instance soon after she began to wear hijab when she was calling her cousin while getting ready for a wedding. As she put on her hijab, her cousin told her that she did not need to wear the hijab to social events.
“When she said that, it really put stuff into perspective for me,” Shaikh said. “Our culture back home in India really sees hijab as temporary. Just take it on and off when you want to. It’s just like an on and off relationship.”
Shaikh realized that this was not how she wanted to follow her religion, and she began to compare the way she practiced her faith with how her cousins and family in India did.
“I enjoy talking about my faith so much,” Shaikh said. “I could talk about it all day. But when I’m with my cousins, sometimes it feels like they’re always talking about the culture, they’re always doing something cultural. And I don’t really want to do that. It makes me question, do I really count as Gujarati if I’m not as connected to Gujarati culture as they are?”
Shaikh also explains that the continued persecution of Muslims in India at times makes her reconsider her connection with Indian culture, especially as she wears hijab.
“I’m so proud to be Indian sometimes, but my own country wants my own people to not be there,” Shaikh said. “So, am I being proud for no reason?”
Shaikh mentioned the hijab ban in March 2022 in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, ruled by Prime Minister Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
“When that first came out, I was really doubting—should I go back to India now to see my family with the hijab on?” Shaikh said. “It really makes me feel bad for the Muslim girls over there who are practicing their faith. They’re being forced to disconnect from their faith for their country. No one should be faced with that choice.”
Even still, Shaikh explains that she has a deep love for her culture, for it gives her a sense of identity and individuality.
“I’m so thankful that I have a culture that I can confide myself within, and that I have a set place to go back to in India, see my people, see the traditions we’ve carried on,” Shaikh said.
Shaikh explains that she is happy with the way she is connected with her faith and culture today. She is especially grateful to her parents, who taught her the important aspects of her culture such as the food and language.
“Not everybody gets to have this privilege to know who they are and who their ancestors were and who were the people that came generations and generations before,” Shaikh said.
Styled by Kylee Strickfaden
Models: Sarah Saran Kouyate, Aamena Shaikh
All outfits are sourced from models’ wardrobes.
