We first noticed Aman when she liked Raw Women’s facebook page. We were so intrigued by the fact she was wearing a turban that we approached her to find out why.
Who we met was a strong young Sikh married to a proud young man, Jaswinder. We also found out that she is writer. So we asked her this question.
“Who are you Aman, and why do you, a woman, wear the Turban?”
This was her reply.
“Moving to Melbourne was the toughest decision of my life. Here I was at twenty two years old, comfortable with my age, and with my choice of marrying the best man I knew. Every time I met an old friend, or a distant relative I had to apologetically recite the reasons for not having the common, large Indian wedding that was expected of me. I wasn’t really sorry though; after all the wedding was about me and my husband, and what we wanted for our ‘big day’.
Living in Sydney in the heart of the Sikh community, where the Gurdwara worship hall was only minutes away, I had grown up used to the familiarity of running into familiar faces all over town. Non-Sikhs were more accustomed to either pass me by silently, or more commonly with a stare, or under the breath sneer. I had learned to ignore the western world and look up to the mothers and sisters in the Sikh community, who eventually held my hand and led me, as I willingly became a baptized (initiated Amritdhari) Sikh at the age of twenty two.”
“Wearing a dastar (turban) never limits me. I am a woman, and never misidentified for anything else. I am a walking icon for my religion; this is a lot of responsibility. Coming to Melbourne helped to redefine myself, to find strength from within and reinvigorated my determination to improve myself entirely. I am told I’m strong and inspirational but I don’t feel that way just yet. Who I am is something I will always re-evaluate, one aspect of who I am does not explain me. I am a combination of many great things and for now – I am a resilient woman. I am young wife. I am an active feminist. I am a devout Sikh. I am Aman!”
