I read this morning in Ottawacitizen newspaper this new and I liked to share it with you.
Somehow, we can if we want, we just have to struggle.
A sweet think to all our sisters wearing proudly the Hijab.
Ottawacitizen : [/size]
A tenacious spirit: The Lieutenant-Commander in a hijab By Louisa Taylor
OTTAWA Wafa Dabbagh is many things. She is a tiny, bubbly bundle of energy who loves Zumba fitness. She prays five times a day, keeps an immaculate home and bakes a cake for her beloved neighbours each weekend. She has a bachelor's degree, a master's in business administration and a cancer diagnosis, the last of which she treats like a bothersome cold.
Dabbagh is also a pioneer, the first member of the Canadian Armed Forces -- and still only one of a handful -- to wear a hijab, the Muslim headcovering for women.
After almost 15 years in the naval reserves, she is now a lieutenant-commander, the equivalent of a major in the army. Dabbagh is certified to shoot a C7 rifle and a 9 mm pistol, and is in the process of studying to qualify for promotion to a command position.
On Monday at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. David Johnston awarded the first Operational Service Medals to 50 recipients, including Dabbagh, who was recognized for her participation in Operation Proteus, a Canadian training mission in Jerusalem.
The medal recognizes those who completed non-combat overseas missions that involved a level of risk or intensity.
"I wasn't trying to prove anything or be the first at anything," says Dabbagh about her military career. "I wanted an adventure and I wanted a job."
That's the frame of mind Dabbagh was in when she wandered into an Armed Forces Recruiting Centre in Windsor.
A Palestinian born in Egypt, Dabbagh was raised in Kuwait and came to Montreal in 1990 at the age of 28.
Armed with a bachelor's degree from Kuwait, an MBA from the United States, fluent English and Arabic and functional French, she thought she'd find work easily. But the best she could do was a telemarketing job.
After she moved to Windsor in 1996 to be with her sister, Dabbagh went to the Canada Employment Office. When she had trouble getting into the building, she went next door, to the Armed Forces recruiting office. They told her how to get into the employment office, and she turned to go.
"But something made me turn back and say 'What do you have here?' " says Dabbagh. "They told me about the training I could get, the trades available, and I said 'Count me in.' "
Somehow, we can if we want, we just have to struggle.
A sweet think to all our sisters wearing proudly the Hijab.
Ottawacitizen : [/size]
A tenacious spirit: The Lieutenant-Commander in a hijab By Louisa Taylor
OTTAWA Wafa Dabbagh is many things. She is a tiny, bubbly bundle of energy who loves Zumba fitness. She prays five times a day, keeps an immaculate home and bakes a cake for her beloved neighbours each weekend. She has a bachelor's degree, a master's in business administration and a cancer diagnosis, the last of which she treats like a bothersome cold.
Dabbagh is also a pioneer, the first member of the Canadian Armed Forces -- and still only one of a handful -- to wear a hijab, the Muslim headcovering for women.
After almost 15 years in the naval reserves, she is now a lieutenant-commander, the equivalent of a major in the army. Dabbagh is certified to shoot a C7 rifle and a 9 mm pistol, and is in the process of studying to qualify for promotion to a command position.
On Monday at Rideau Hall, Gov. Gen. David Johnston awarded the first Operational Service Medals to 50 recipients, including Dabbagh, who was recognized for her participation in Operation Proteus, a Canadian training mission in Jerusalem.
The medal recognizes those who completed non-combat overseas missions that involved a level of risk or intensity.
"I wasn't trying to prove anything or be the first at anything," says Dabbagh about her military career. "I wanted an adventure and I wanted a job."
That's the frame of mind Dabbagh was in when she wandered into an Armed Forces Recruiting Centre in Windsor.
A Palestinian born in Egypt, Dabbagh was raised in Kuwait and came to Montreal in 1990 at the age of 28.
Armed with a bachelor's degree from Kuwait, an MBA from the United States, fluent English and Arabic and functional French, she thought she'd find work easily. But the best she could do was a telemarketing job.
After she moved to Windsor in 1996 to be with her sister, Dabbagh went to the Canada Employment Office. When she had trouble getting into the building, she went next door, to the Armed Forces recruiting office. They told her how to get into the employment office, and she turned to go.
"But something made me turn back and say 'What do you have here?' " says Dabbagh. "They told me about the training I could get, the trades available, and I said 'Count me in.' "