“Unveiled”addresses stereotypes

By: Max Bruns ~Staff Writer~

The Muslim Student Association (MSA) hosted the one-woman play “Unveiled,” for Xavier students and faculty members.

The critically-acclaimed show focused on what it’s like to be a Muslim woman in a post-9/11 world by telling the stories of five Muslim women through the eyes of one actress, Rohina Malik.

“Rohina Malik, the screenwriter and performer, makes these characters relatable in their ordinariness and shows us how they are forced to deal with absolute chaos caused by bigotry,” MSA President Adnan Ilyas said. “It’s really about teaching people something.”

The MSA was aiming for a large turnout so that the public could see the themes reflected in the play and were rewarded with an attendance upwards of 70.

“We’re relying on the Alternative Breaks Committee, the Center for Faith and Justice and the Multicultural, Gender and Women’s Center,” Ilyas said. “The MSA is small, with only a handful of undergraduate students.”

The show, which consisted of five monologues, was important to the MSA because it focused on themes such as racism and violence towards modern-day Muslims.

“It relates to what’s effectively an existential crisis for Muslims living in the US — the routine bigotry and discrimination, sometimes violent,” Ilyas said. “‘Unveiled’ is a play that crafts scenarios that are, unfortunately, all too realistic and brings them to the audience.”
Ilyas hopes that events like this Writerreach more people, “For the record, if you aren’t being directly affected, you will always be somewhat ignorant,” Ilyas said. “I don’t think most people get enough exposure to issues like this. If it’s not your problem, you aren’t forced to deal with it constantly.”

The MSA wishes to host other events of this nature in order to raise awareness for the issue around campus and among students.

To learn more about “Unveiled” and Rohina Malik, visit rohinamalik.weebly.com. The MSA can be contacted at msa@xavier.edu.