"Travel Guide for Mama" by 2014 HR Fellow Sumeja Tulic
“TRAVEL GUIDE FOR MAMA” BY 2014 HR FELLOW SUMEJA TULIC
Visiting New York for the first time as a Human Rights Fellow, Sumeja Tulic developed a conceptual travel guide with advice, safety tips, and insights gleaned from interviews with dozens of women describing their daily experiences and encounters with discrimination while wearing the hijab in New York.
“This travel guide is intended for my mom, who started wearing hijab some 25 years ago. Whenever I am away from home, somewhere West where the skyline isn’t dotted with tall mosque towers, I think of my mom and how she would feel where I am. I fit in almost anywhere. To fit in is one of my conscious life missions. My uniqueness is subtle; it creeps in through my accent and the sound of my name, Sumeja, its Islamic meaning “first martyr”. Unlike me, my mother outwardly displays her belief system and often, she expresses wariness at a world not accustomed to her hijab. Inspired by Wikitravel’s Guide for New York City and molded by the experiences of a dozen of female tourists and residents I interviewed while here, this guide attempts to prepare my mother for New York. ”
- Sumeja Tulic, 2014 Human Rights Fellow
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