Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah

Wearing a hijab is a touchstone of religious identity, but it is also imbued with a complex array of historical and contemporary meanings

In Alana Valentine's new play, the cultural meaning of the hijab has become a wedge between generations At the heart of Shafana and Aunt Sarrinah is the relationship between an aunt and her niece

Both devout Muslims, the younger woman wants to put on a headscarf, the older woman tries to dissuade her

For Aunt Sarrinah, the hijab represents a world from which she has escaped

for her niece, Shafana, it is a personal statement of renewed faith