Minnesota – Dozens of female students at a high school in Minnesota stood in solidarity with a Muslim student who was feeling outcasted by showing up in hijab. 

A couple dozen Duluth East High School students took it upon themselves to fight growing anti-Islamic rhetoric by wearing the hijab on Wednesday.

“We want to stand in solidarity with our Muslim friends who are maybe experiencing hard times right now and feeling unwelcome,” said senior Andrea Hitz.

Rana Imtiaz organized the event because she said she is one of those people.

“I don’t even know how to describe what it feels like to know that because of the color of my skin and the religion that I choose to follow, people will discriminate against me and feel hate against me,” Imtiaz said. “It’s so awful. It’s a terrible feeling.”

The brave senior recently asked her classmates to step outside of the box and into her shoes. They responded in full force.

“After the election, I know I, as a white woman, was feeling unsupported,” Hitz added. “When I came to school and my friend who is so kind, so incredibly intelligent and such a huge part of our community felt like she was unwelcome, that really cut me to the core.”

It’s that type of support that Shanze Hayee said she’s thankful for as a hijab is empowering for a Muslim woman like herself.

“It’s basically showing that a woman isn’t just about her beauty and her sexuality,” the freshman explained. “It’s more about her mind and what’s her heart. What you see on the outside is just a fraction of what she actually is.”

Being seen for who you are, without stereotypes or bigotry, is exactly what these girls are all about.

“I just hope now that people will unite together,” Imtiaz said.” We can do something to change this. This won’t be the reality of America.”

This event also promoted anti-bullying in light of recent hate speech incidents in Duluth schools.