WHEN a woman decides to be in hijab, she is making a life-changing decision; one that can either be easy or difficult to make. She’s making a change in her lifestyle, not only to cover her hair, but also the lifestyle that she had lived with all her life.
I decided to don the hijab in 2013. I could have done it much earlier, but the rebel in me had resisted. I didn’t want to be told to do it. If I were to do it, it would be on my own accord.
Everyone thought I would wear the hijab right after I performed the umrah in 2012. They were wrong.
I didn’t hook on to the popular action that one had to be covered up after they did their pilgrimage.
In fact, I know of friends who went on the umrah unannounced, just because they didn’t want to be judged for not being in hijab when they returned home. I guess that was the best as you will not get people talking about you as they did of me.
Yes, people talked behind my back; the hushed whispers when I walked past them and the hints they gave, either verbally or through social media networks. Even my mother and some family members had, on several occasions, mentioned it. I ignored them, not because I wasn’t ready, but it was because I was expected to do so.
My timing was perfect. There was no pressure from anyone. Either they have given up on me or that they knew pushing me to do things will not get me to do it. And, it took many by surprise.
And, more and more women are in hijab now, especially the Muslim millennials, whom I read are also called Mipsterz (Muslim hipsters) and GUMmies (global urban Muslim consumers).
The world is catering to their needs. Reports show that several retailers and brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Uniqlo and Burberry are entering the Muslim fashion industry and several notable investments are driving the sector forward, including Qatar’s Mayhoola investment fund buying French luxury label Balmain and crowdfunding being used to develop a climate adapting hijab.
Even toy manufacturer Mattel has recognised how huge the Muslim market is with the release of its first hijab-wearing Barbie, modelled after United States Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” last year.
There is even a World Hijab Day, which is an annual event founded by a New York resident, Nazma Khan, in 2013. The event takes place on Feb 1 each year in 140 countries worldwide. Its stated purpose is to encourage women of all religions and backgrounds to wear and experience the hijab.
The State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2016/17, produced by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with Dinar Standard, estimates Muslims spend globally across sectors at over US$1.9 trillion (RM7.8 trillion) in 2015. Food and beverage tops Muslims’ spending by category at US$1.17 trillion in 2015, followed by clothing and apparel at US$243 billion, media and recreation at US$189 billion, travel at US$151 billion, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics at US$133 billion.
The report also estimates that , in 2015, the revenues from Halal- Certified Food and Beverage products to be US$415 billion; revenues from Modest Fashion clothing purchased by Muslim women to be US$44 billion and revenues derived from Muslim Friendly Tourism services to be US$24 billion.
As the sector gains traction, Muslims are projected to spend US$368 billion on clothing and apparel by 2021.
And, yet, we find some establishments in the hospitality industry here imposing a no-hijab policy.
A news report showed that the Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre has identified 12 hotels within the Klang Valley, either with five or six stars, which are guilty of imposing the ban on headscarves. The union had received complaints of discrimination against Muslim workers in the hospitality industry, who were told to remove their head scarves at work.
The Malaysian Association of Hotels defended its members’ policy of prohibiting frontline staff from wearing the hijab, saying it is an international practice and not meant to be discriminatory. It said that hotels, especially international hotels in Malaysia, followed a standard operating procedure and policy on the matter.
Seriously, how many of us have noticed this? Only after reading this report did I realise that the many times I stayed in hotels in Klang Valley and Johor, I had never been attended to by hijab-wearing staff when checking in or at the restaurants.
A former schoolmate, who used to work in the Human Resources Department of a hotel, said it was a normal practice, especially among five-star hotels. She didn’t offer any reason why this is so. “During interviews, the applicant are told that they cannot use the hijab. For non-frontliners, like those in marketing or sales, they are told that while they could be in hijab, the hotel does not provide them the headscarves with their uniforms. They have to find their own according to the uniform colour code.”
She agreed that such a policy should not be put in place. Furthermore, the hijab has undoubtedly become a part of the day-to-day dress code.
And, we both agreed with British Prime Minister Theresa May who said, “what a woman wears is a woman’s choice” when she acknowledged World Hijab Day in Westminster this year.
The writer, a United Nations’
Journalism fellow and Wolfson
College Cambridge press fellow, with 30 years of experience as a journalist, is associate editor, Lifestyle