Voice of British Muslim Women

Fateha Khawaja, Tilford

I remember the countdown to the last New Year. It was the first in my new house and I was excited about offering Tahajjud, pre-dawn Prayers – voluntary Prayers that Muslims particularly try and offer when welcoming the New Year, to set a precedent of being much more mindful of their Prayers. Waking up early, offering your Prayers, seeing your friends afterwards – it is always the best way to welcome the New Year. I enjoyed these Prayers more than most because I was blessed enough to read the first morning Prayer of 2020 behind His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Caliph of our worldwide community. We even got to see and greet him as he was leaving the mosque and going back to his residence. It was the best way I could have started the year and it left me feeling hopeful and excited for the year to follow.

Then we came to March and the COVID-19 pandemic had become more and more widespread in the UK. It left us paranoid as a student body, checking the number of new cases every lesson to see whether schools would have to close. Most of us were excited by this prospect, having felt so overwhelmed by schoolwork and exams that term. I self-isolated in the hopes of coming back after the Easter holiday, believing this ‘lockdown’, a new concept to us at the time, would be short lived. It was in this childish naivety that I said goodbye to all my school friends, just as you would for a regular school holiday, expecting to see them after three weeks. However, those three weeks became longer and longer and it was only six months later that we came back to school.

The first month of lockdown, although it was unexpected and difficult to adjust to, perhaps because of how little we understood the severity of the virus, was also enjoyable. I enjoyed having the free time to cook and bake and spend more time with my family. For many people, it was an incredibly difficult time, particularly for those who struggle with their mental health and I know that they would never want to relive that part of their lives. However, for me, sometimes I wish I could go back and relive that month because it may have been the best part of my year- we were blissfully content and unaware of what was yet to come.

I learnt the value of human connection this year, an invaluable lesson that I will never forget. Friendships were brought so much closer because of the distance between them. I talked to my closest friends once a day, sometimes even twice, for hours on end, something that we have not been able to do before and have not been able to replicate since. It strengthened our bond, allowed us to discuss topics we never usually would and let us just have fun. I feel so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much technology because I do not think I would have been able to experience lockdown as positively without being able to stay in contact with my friends and to remain ‘surrounded’ by people by joining daily zoom calls.

While in many ways, this lockdown was a positive experience for me and developed me so much as an individual, I also saw many people close to me experience losing family members and friends. I cannot imagine how they managed to stay so strong, particularly without the ability to surround themselves with a strong support system. Sadly, we also lost many well known and upstanding figures within our community.

Although 2020 has had positive aspects to it, such as the recent development of the Coronavirus vaccine, the first breakthrough we have had in the effort to eliminate this virus, it has also been a year tainted with sadness. Healthcare professionals have been stretched to their limits, governments have had to come up with new policies and rules to adapt to the ever-changing situation, and we as a nation, have struggled to see the positives in our circumstances.

This year is something we have experienced collectively, not just as individuals. We have lost many lives of such amazing and irreplaceable people. Although sometimes it may feel as if the daily death rate in the news is merely an ever-growing statistic, behind each number is a grieving family and that is something we should never lose sight of. So, going into 2021, the lesson I will take with me is to value my relationships more than ever as you never know when they will be pushed to their limits and also, to treat others with humanity and kindness.