For Mumbai resident Dr Syeda Ruksheda, the hijab is very much part of her identity. A practising psychiatrist and psychotherapist for over two decades now, Ruksheda doesn’t shy away from wearing her faith on her sleeve, even though, she admits, being discriminated against professionally.

This realisation dawned on her quite early on in her career, when 12 years ago, a production house that was looking for a mental health expert for a morning show of a Hindi news channel, refused to entertain her. “We spoke over the phone. They were happy to learn that I was well versed in Hindi and asked me to visit the studio for the show,” recalls Ruksheda. “But, when I went there the following day, they seemed a little taken aback.” One of the first things they asked her was if she would remove her hijab. Ruksheda declined politely, but that incident left a bad taste in her mouth.