I Wonder How Old Girls Are Supposed To Cover Their Hair In Muslim Countries [Bangladesh] Travel, Photo and Essay by Tetsu Ozawa

The boy and the girl looked at me silently

Boy and girl gazing at me — Boy and girl

As I was walking through Rangpur, a boy and a girl clad in a dress came up to me and stopped. The girl was still young and had not covered her hair with a hijab, leaving it uncovered. Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country. It is a world of manners for adult women to cover their hair in public.

There I always wondered, at what age in the Muslim world does it become a rule that girls must cover their hair? When I walk around, I see some girls who are very young but cover their hair just like adults, and some who are quite big but do not cover their hair. There are no explicit rules, and it may depend on the educational policy of the parents.

With these thoughts in mind, I pointed my camera at them and clicked the shutter. They remained silent. They just kept staring at my camera. It was as if we had entered a wordless world.