Most Westerners think that women who wear head scarves that cover them from head to foot must be oppressed victims of a radical belief. However, one Muslim woman in Brazil is breaking that negative stereotype by choosing to wear her niqab and shred her way as the lead guitarist of a heavy metal band.
Gisele Marie is the 42-year-old Muslim from Brazil whose photo of her playing at a concert with her pink polka-dotted Gibson Flying V guitar has been making the rounds in the Internet.
Some reports have misidentified Marie's full-body scarf as a burqa; however, the correct form of covering she wears is the niqab, which does not cover her eyes with a veil.
The now-widely circulated photo was snapped when she was fronting for her brother's band, Spectrus, at a concert in Sao Paulo in 2012. According to reports, she left the band in August 2015 but is currently working on her first album with a new band with whom she studies and practices her heavy metal music with up to six hours a day.
Marie has shared that she does not feel that her choice of body covering or her religion is in any way a hindrance to her profession.
"For me it's a normal clothes [sic], my clothes, and there is nothing different about wearing the niqab on stage... I do not care about people looking at me because I wear the niqab, but I hope that people understand that Islam is just my religion and music is my profession... I don't think one has anything to do with the other," she said in an interview.
She also shared that although some have found it interesting and cool to see her slaying it on stage with her band, she has also been a victim of criticism and even hate-attacks. Some people even attempted to tear off her niqab as she walks down the street.
Reports indicate that Marie's family is of German Catholic descent and she converted to Islam in 2009 after her father died. When asked how her family feels about her religion, she says they were supportive of her conversion.
As for her music career, Marie continues to perform heavy metal and improve her skills with regular music lessons with a teacher. She is aware that she is breaking the stereotype for Muslim women all over the world and embraces it.
"Yes for sure. And I hope that more people also do this," she said.
Check her out shredding it in this video of one of her band's concerts:
This Woman Wears A Burqa — And Plays Guitar In A Heavy Metal Band
This woman wears a burqa — and plays in a heavy metal band
Posted by NowThis on Tuesday, September 22, 2015
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