I don't know what the algorithm was "thinking", but I got a recommendation for a video of this lady eating wearing a full niqab, and that's what started it all. I watched a few videos because I was curious to hear "one of those" talk for once. It's not like I've never seen one before. I never lived in a Muslim country, but in the town where I used to live longest, there was at least five niqabis. They all wore the full niqab, abaya and gloves, and one was wearing an additional gauze veil so people couldn't see her eyes, either. I remember that day, it was a 100 Fahrenheit summer day, and she was outside dressed all in black, in this attire. I couldn't help but looking shocked. I don't know what her reaction to me being shocked because, while she could see me, I could not see her, just her outline.
Then I found out about this influencer, and she presents life as a niqabi a a really fun lifestyle that barely limits you. How realistic is this? It's not like you have nothing to compare, nobody is born a niqabi. And not all niqabis started with the niqab when they started wearing a hijab. Then there's converts. One of the five niqabis I met had blue eyes, so she likely was a convert. People might wonder how I was able to tell that it was five and not just always the same woman, except for the one with blue eyes. Well, you can never be sure, but I remember that one was fairly tall, almost 6 ft, and she was of average build. The one with the gauze veil was tiny, about 4'11 and very slim. The third one, I think, was somewhere in between and she did not wear gloves. Number four was the one with the blue eyes. The fifth one...technically I cannot be sure, but she was the only one who didn't dress in all black, her attire was partially blue. Well, thanks to MehdinaTV I know that some niqabis wear colors, but it was my gut feeling that it was a different woman.
One might think that in a town of 250,000 people, five niqabis is not a large number, but they stand out, whether they are willing to acknowledge it or not.