i had the opportunity to participate this past weekend in a fantastic performance that is gaining recognition around the country, both in and outside of the muslim community, the hijabi monologues. if you've heard of eve ensler, you can kind of guess that this show presents something that is a sort of inverse of the vagina monologues - not related or responding to it, but, as co-founder sahar ullah describes it, taking something public like the islamic headscarf (hijab) and pushing it OUT of viewers' faces, by making them see the individual wearing it, rather than personifying something intensely private. the hijabi monologues is not actually about the headscarf at all (which i was ecstatic about, because i don't think there exists another piece of cloth in the world that's been overanalyzed more), but it presents the stories of various women who just happen to wear hijab. let me be a little more grandiose about it: it helps give voice to a group of women who have, for entirely too long, been spoken for by others who have no idea.i had been wanting to see it for a while, being a longtime american hijabi myself, but also found out that one of my friends would be performing in the DC show, held at the kennedy center on sunday, nov. 22. so i was thrilled to find out only a few days in advance that the show was looking for photographers! for the camera geeks out there: the kennedy center does not allow flash in or around shows, so this was a bit of a challenge; i had my tamron 28-75 2.8, but i really wanted close-ups of the spotlit performers on stage; for this i had to use my sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6. in the end it was only my 5D's amazing high ISO performance and a steady hand (and the fact that i wasn't the only photographer there) that saved me. without further ado...