LEWISTON – To show the difference between a hijab (head covering) and a jilbab (coat) and why they wear them, a group of Edward Little and Lewiston high school students are hosting a Somali fashion show.

The show is to help bridge community cultures with something everyone, especially females, can relate to – fashion.

The show is titled “Fashions from the Horn of Africa” and will be held May 16 at the Great Falls Performing Arts Center in Auburn. Helping the girls put the show together is Cara Gaumont, outreach coordinator with the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence.

The teens will model and explain what they wear, which ranges from traditional to modern to ultrafeminine special occasion outfits. During an editorial board meeting with the Sun Journal, nine high school students said their style of dress reflects their individuality, religion and pride in being a Muslim.

“We wear it because it’s part of our religion. It’s also who we are,” said Muna Hussein, 17. “It shows us as individual persons.”

Some assume Somali girls and women are forced to cover up in a male-dominated culture. “It’s not like that,” Hussein insisted. Some wear hijabs, some don’t. It’s an individual choice, she said. “The ones who do, it’s part of their religion.”

Wearing an olive green hijab that matched her stylish sweater, Naimo Abdirahman, 17, said she dresses the way she does “because I want to. My mom is not forcing me. … It makes me happy. I can look at myself and say I’m a Muslim girl.”

The style is tradition, said Mulki Yoni, 18. “It’s something we grew up wearing, basically. You cover your hair, you wear a skirt.” She agreed it’s up to individual females to decide what to wear.

The girls pointed out they wear hijabs in different ways that give them unique looks. With some, necks and hair are completely covered, others partially. Some completely cover their arms, others wear short sleeves. Their outfits represented a mix of the modern and traditional: hijabs with collegiate sweatshirts over skirts, pretty tops in blue and prints with matching skirts, hijabs over fashionable shirts and blue jeans.

Some people don’t understand their dress “and have problems with it,” said Kaltuma Janay, 16.

At her high school recently, another girl was ordered to take her bandanna off her head. That girl asked why Janay could wear a hijab in school while she had to take off her bandanna.

“She asked how it was different,” Janay said. “We explained this is part of our religion. She understood it later on, but there’s a lot of people who don’t come up to you and make assumptions,” Janay said. “Hopefully by doing this fashion show they will know why we wear it.”

The girls explained their Somali culture and Muslim religion are connected, that they literally wear some of their religious beliefs. While western girls show off their figures with today’s fashion, Muslim women believe in modesty, the girls said.

The most conservative dress allows only hands and faces to be exposed. Their outer beauty remains hidden so when interacting with people, what others focus on is not their looks, but them as individuals.

The Muslim belief is that a woman’s neck and hair “is part of your beauty. Nobody’s allowed to see your beauty besides our husband,” Janay said. “It’s something that’s yours.”

Skirts are musts for Somali females, she said. The culture teaches that “women should look different than a man.”

Many Somali parents are strict and insist on a certain conduct and dress until a certain age. Once a girl reaches 15 or 16, what to wear is typically her call, the girls said.

“There’s no point if someone’s making you,” Janay said. “We believe that God knows how you’re thinking. He knows if you’re wearing it for yourself or someone else,” she said. It’s important to understand and want to wear the style, she added.

Walking in a crowd, a Somali female will be automatically picked out. How they look gives them a sense of ethnic pride, said Shamis Yonis, 16. “Everyone can tell you’re a Muslim.”

Suggested donations to attend the May 16 show will be $2 to $5. Proceeds will benefit the United Somali Women of Maine, a local nonprofit organization that helps immigrant women in the community.

For more information, e-mail culturalfashionshow@gmail, or phone Cara Gaumont at 753-6676.

Those who want to learn what the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence does are invited to a presentation at the Androscoggin Chamber of Commerce at 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at 415 Lisbon St., Lewiston.