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Quick, name three European countries where you can be arrested for wearing the wrong clothes. If you said France, Belgium and the Netherlands you’d be correct. The one garment that could put you in prison is perhaps the most politically charged item of clothing being worn by millions of women today: the burqa. The burqa, a full length head and body covering, along with the hijab which covers just the hair are the subject of much political debate throughout the Western world.

The Muslim holy book, The Koran requires women to dress modestly, which many Muslim women interpret as requiring hijab. And while many Westerners may pass judgment on these coverings for women, Muslim women themselves have a very complex relationship with the hijab and burqa which they wear as an expression of their faith on a daily basis.

On the one hand there are high profile role models like the hijab-wearing Malala Yousafzai, the 16 year old Pakistani girl who was a Nobel Prize nominee for promoting girl’s education. Her book however, has been banned in Pakistani schools after she was dismissed as a “tool of the West.” And then there’s Marvel Comics’ latest superhero character – a Muslim girl named Kamala Khan living in Jersey City who dresses modestly but not with a headscarf and has superpowers.

Now, local author Mona Ebrahim takes a light-hearted look at the hijab in her new book called, 101 Reasons Why I’m Glad I Wear Hijab: The Fabulous and Fun Frills of the Veil. Using whimsical drawings and clever text, Ebrahim counteracts stereotypes about women being oppressed by the veil and presents positive reasons for wearing the hijab.

GUEST: Mona Ebrahim, author of 101 Reasons Why I’m Glad I Wear Hijab: The Fabulous and Fun Frills of the “Veil”

Visit www.101ReasonsHijab.com for more information about the book.