‘This is a sin’: why are Malaysia’s turban style hijabs so divisive?
- They’re fashionable, comfortable and meet religious guidelines when women properly pair them, but turbans still face much criticism in Muslim Malaysia
- Howls of protest and outrage are common on social media whenever a local Muslim celebrity is spotted wearing a hijab as a turban
It fit her faith’s requirements of modest dressing, revealing only her face, hands and feet. But in Malaysia’s hot and humid climate, it became a major physical discomfort, too.
“For the first two years, I really struggled with this style,” says Noor, 36, a homemaker and fashion enthusiast with a side business in origami totes.
She started experimenting with the turban style, wrapping only her hair. But another problem surfaced: she couldn’t find any weather-appropriate clothes that covered her neck. Frustrated, she started making her own clothes. Today, she has struck a happy balance between style and modesty in her uniquely structured outfits, and even gets requests on how to copy make them.
There’s still one problem, though.
“There’s a stigma that those wearing turbans aren’t serious about wearing the hijab,” she says. “Turban wearers just want to be stylish, they say, not religious. It took me a few years to wear this style in public because I was afraid of what people would say.”
