By: Anahat Bawa
When I was a kid and I walked with my family in public, I would always remember seeing faces staring. Sometimes the faces would be confused, sometimes curious, sometimes frightened. I hated the attention we got all because my father wears a turban. At 8 years old, I worried why my family didn’t fit in. Why we got the weird looks. This was and still is the realities for many Sikhs and minority groups who live in the United States.
After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, many people started to live in fear, forcing them to judge based on stereotypes. My father, a turban wearing Sikh man, recounts days where he entered his local Starbucks and got the occasional "go back to where you are from". Even at airport security, where people are supposed to feel the most safe, I didn't. I constantly felt the weird looks... almost like my family and I weren't supposed to be there.
Now, being a 16 year old, I still hear incidents of people from my faith receiving injustice. 2 weeks ago, at The University of North Carolina, a Sikh student wearing a Kirpan, was detained for carrying a "knife like weapon" at the campus library. For those who don't know, A Kirpan symbolizes a Sikh's duty to stand up against injustice. One is able to understand the irony behind this situation, as the policeman's intent was to detain and put others out of harms way and prevent crime, but little did the policeman know, that is exactly what the Kirpan is for. This ignorant act, revealed to me how in this country, and my homeland, people refuse to put stereotypes aside, and judge individuals based on their true character. Furthermore, the lack of awareness on Sikhism as well as the practices of the faith, put followers at harms way. Maybe if students and kids are taught about more Religions (not just the most followed ones), we, as a society can prevent future acts of ignorance and put less innocent people in harms way.
If you would like to read more about this, Click this link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/09/26/unc-sikh-student-kirpan-detained-north-carolina-campus/8120985001/
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