Arizza Nocum
Arizza Nocum.
Nocum is the daughter of a Catholic father and Muslim mother. The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, with around 83% of the population ascribing to themselves to the religion in the 2000 census, while just 5% of Filipinos are Muslim.
Her parents' union was a "statement against what was happening around them," according to Nocum.
"Throughout our history, the dominance of the Catholic religion has sort of translated to oppression against the Muslim minority, so naturally there is a lot of tension and prejudice between Muslims and Catholics in my country," Nocum told Business Insider.
Nevertheless, Nocum was brought up to learn both religions. Her parents taught her both the Bible and the Quran. She dressed in casual clothes to attend mass with her father and wore the hijab whilst attending Muslim gatherings. Nocum was comfortable in her two identities, living "between the cross and the crescent moon."
But as she entered high school and college and began posting pictures of herself wearing the veil and without to Facebook, Nocum began receiving negative comments from friends, like: "I don't understand who you are."
Arizza Nocum
Nocum says her peers were confused by the fact that she followed two religions.
"There was a very real sense of fear and distrust because you don't see a lot of hijabis here in Manilla. When I wear that, it automatically signals something that people actually associate Islam here with conflict and aggression," Nocum continued.
"I'm supposed to be the same person, I'm Arizza, but it's the way when I wear the clothing of one religion versus the other I'm treated completely differently.
"That's when I knew it wasn't healthy and something had to be done."