The girl with the veil waved her hand, beckoning on the coming taxicab. But the cab did not stop, like the previous one, two, three ones she had tried to hail. It was already nine o’clock tonight, and the dorm where she stayed had a curfew at ten. A picture of her standing outside the locked door and clutching at her veil because of the cold crept into her mind. How she wished that her school organization’s meeting at the International Center ended much earlier.
Then came an organization mate. She told her predicament, to which the org mate replied, “Shan, tanggalin mo ‘yung veil mo.”
Then it struck her. The hijab, the piece of cloth around her head cascading down her shoulders, which she wore as a symbol of her faith and culture, betrayed her tonight, like how a tattoo would of a criminal. Her org mate hailed a taxicab for the two of them, and was not refused.
Shahana Abdulwahid, now 23, was not surprised, though. In a society turned narrow-minded by eternal hatreds, prejudice is a given for every one born a Muslim. Back in Zamboanga City, her Chinese classmates – she studied in a Chinese school from kindergarten to fourth year, where she was the only Muslim in her batch — used to brand her tiko, a Chinese derogatory term for Muslims, which could roughly translate as “barbaric,” “mamatay-tao.”
Her situation apparently did not change when she got into the University of the Philippines, Diliman, supposedly the home of liberal-minded people. Failing to get a ride in a taxicab or an Ikot jeep is one proof. When she campaigned for the position of University Student Council (USC) chair last March, her pristine veil would have looked like a rug if her encounters with discrimination were filth.
She recalls her experiences as she went campaigning from one room to another. “Ang kalaban ko that time, fratman at sorority girl, from the College of Law, which is the most influential college; and from the College of Engineering, which is the biggest college. Ako, from the Insitute of Islamic Studies. Tinatanong ako ng mga estudyante, ‘Meron pa lang Institute of Islamic Studies sa UP?’” She is currently taking her Master’s degree in Islamic Studies, under a scholarship grant from the Prince of Saudi Arabia.
“Sabi ng ibang mga estudyante sa akin, ‘A, Shan, tanggalin mo yung veil mo, para iboboto kita’ – may ganon. Pangalawa: ‘Bakit mo tinatakpan yung ulo mo? Kalbo ka ba?’ – mga nang-aasar. Pangatlo: may mga professor na nagtatanong na, ‘Anong masasabi mo na terorista ka?’
“Parang sabi ko, nasa UP tayo di ba? Dapat mas malawak yung pang-unawa natin sa mga bagay-bagay, so bakit pa ako nakakaencounter ng mga ganito?”
Maybe the students were confident that Shahana could deliver her platforms and lead them in the fight against the biggest issue to shake UP since the recent years, the tuition and other fee increases (TOFI). Or it could be a simple case of tokenism. One thing is sure: Shahana Abdulwahid has made history by becoming the first female Muslim USC chair of the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
Campus politics is nothing new to Shahana. She was the class the president since sixth grade up until she graduated from high school. “Parang challenge talaga sa akin na ako yung pinili nilang president from grade six to fourth year; ako yung naglilead sa kanila”
When she reached college, she initially resolved not to engage in extra-curricular activities to concentrate her attention on her studies. She was a Philosophy major then. She planned to go “acad mode,” as she calls it. “Ang panata ko nga dati nung pumasok ako sa UP, bawal kang sumali sa organizations, bawal kang sumali — sa kahit ano!” But the lure of leadership proved irresistable. “Pero dear, nag-join ako ng orgs, naging active ako sa dorm,” she says.
Her foyer into campus politics in the UP came as a surprise. The party STAND UP approached her and offered her to run as college representative of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy in 2005. “Kinuha lang ako na hindi ko naman alam kung bakit ako kinuha in the first place. Out of nowhere lang ako hinugot . Parang sabi ko, ‘Ano namang naging criteria ninyo kaya ninyo ako pinili?’ ”
She explains that usually, candidates come from the member oganization of the party, while her student organizations then, the Philosophy Organization and the Muslim Student’s Association (MSA) did not belong to any party. Moreover, she did not have any mass base. “Kasi sa campus politics, kailangan mo ng mass base, ibig sabihin galing ka sa isang organization na maraming members. Ang org ko lang n’on, Philo Organization at MSA! Minority ang MSA, at ang Philo Org, konti lang kaming members.” The support from the MSA is even divided, as other Muslim students are also running for positions, she says.
Eventually, she won. The next year, in 2006, she once again run — this time as USC councilor — and won. As she graduated cum laude from college that year, she thought her stint as USC councilor was her last venture to campus politics. Then STAND UP approached her again, offering her to run for the postion of the USC chair.
“Nung inoffer sa aking mag-chair, hindi ko inaccept siya. Ilang beses akong tinanong, for how many times, last minute akong umoo.” Her being hesitant stemmed from religious constraint. Islam prohibits women from heading any Islamic institution or country. “Pero kung academic naman siya, wala naman constraint doon.” The first Muslim USC chair was Rommel Romato, in 2002.
Her family was also worried that the responsibilities that come with the position may pressure her so much. “Pag nanalo ka, ikaw ang magiging mukha ng students, ikaw ang magiging mukha ng UP, at kung ano yung magiging reply mo, salita mo, ay magrereflect sa iyo. At security-wise, hindi rin safe sa iyo, dahil babae ka,” she tells her family’s apprehension.
What compelled her to pursue her bid to the highest position in the student council was the need of the Muslim community in the UP to have a place of worship. “May usapin ang Muslim community regarding the place of worship dito – mayroon na tayong dalawang [Christian]church dito pero wala pa tayong mosque ngayon; problema namin ngayon, pag Ramadan, wala kaming decent prayer area, so sabi ko, kailangan pa ring may mag-lobby for that.” The Muslim community has to make do with the conference center of the Romulo Hall or the Asian Center, which they convert into a prayer area every Friday.
Just halfway through her term, Shahana’s leadership has been faced with the TOFI issue and the still unresolved case of Chris Mendez’s death. However, Shahana deems that her most challenging task as USC chair is internal: how to unite the council divided by different party affiliations. “Ako ang chair. Ang vice chair namin ay Alyansa. Six of our councilors are STAND UP; the remaining six are Alyansa . College representatives namin ay hati rin. Hati talaga. Meron kaming mga members na KAISA na iilan. Basically, hating-hati talaga. Mahirap magpatakbo ng council na ganoon,” she explains. Conflict arises when the USC members cannot agree on stands on particular issues. For instance, Shahana points out, the USC had to debate from 5:30 pm until 12 midnight before coming up with an official stand on TOFI. “Pero eventually, naging unanimous yung decision namin dun sa stand namin.”
Check out tomorrow for the second part of the this series. Thank you for your time. 
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