Hijabi Lawyer Succeeds Against All Odds

Cheema finally got a job offer last August from Ashish Kapoor, who runs his own law firm here.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

CAIRO – For a veiled Muslim woman in the US, making a career in law field has never been an easy task, being judged on what is on her head rather than what is in it.

“Every time I walk into the room, the first thought is, ‘There’s a Muslim,’ ” Zahra Cheema, 25, told the News York Times on Monday, June 8, describing that moment when she meets with a potential employer or argues a case in court.

“I worry that essentially the hijab will override all my other merits.”

Cheema, an American-born daughter of Pakistani immigrants, has been seeking a career in law since she graduated from the City University of New York School of Law.

She grew up in a predominantly white town on Long Island, and her secular family initially frowned on her decision to wear the hijab, a step she took when she was a freshman in college.

“They were like, ‘Who’s going to hire you?’ ” she said, recalling her parents’ concerns and her determination to prove them wrong.

Taking the decision to don the hijab when she was a freshener, Cheema took a long journey from law school to finally establishing her own law firm.

It can be “very lonely,” said Cheema.

Her anxieties started when she started to craft her resume, facing concerns about whether she should include her membership in the Muslim Law Students Association or no.

Hijab in her photos has also posed another challenge questioning whether law firms will ask her in for interviews if hiring managers saw pictures of her wearing a head scarf on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Facing difficulties to get job offers, she decided to remove the photographs from her accounts.

“I get callbacks” when her LinkedIn and Facebook profiles appear without photos, Cheema said ruefully. “The other way, I don’t.”

One law firm manager asked flat out whether she was Muslim or not. “Yes, I am,” Cheema recalled telling her.

Another manager gestured at her clothing and asked, “How does that affect things?”

“It hasn’t up to now,” she said.

Success

Going through painful experiences, Cheema finally got a job offer last August from Ashish Kapoor, who runs his own law firm here.

“She does stand out a little,” said Kapoor, who is not a Muslim and who has fielded questions about Ms. Cheema from curious members of his staff.

Accepting her choice to don hijab, he wondered whether she will be comfortable in dealing with clients and appearing in court. This wonder evaporated as she quickly proved herself.

“She’s very ambitious,” he said.

This month, the ambitious lawyer started her own firm specializing in immigration and family law with support from her parents and from Kapoor, who is providing office space and referrals.

Going through a new life experience, Cheema knows it won’t be easy.

“It might be uncomfortable sometimes,” she said, “but I’m going to take that risk.”

The United States is home to a Muslim minority of between six to eight million.

A US survey has also revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one's affiliations.

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