For Aysha Hussain, getting dressed each day is a fraught negotiation. Ms. Hussain, a 24-year-old magazine writer in New York, is devoted to her pipe-stem Levi’s and determined to incorporate their brash modernity into her wardrobe while adhering to the tenets of her Muslim faith.
(Wow, get it? Pipe-stem Levi’s = “brash modernity.” Muslim faith = the opposite.)
And it’s not just that it seems to be trying to turn a pretty mundane observation (what a Muslim woman chooses to wear “is a critical part of her identity,” says one interviewee) into a sociological phenomenon that is unique to Muslim women.
It’s mostly the way the article seems to subscribe to a “liberation through shopping” theory. The title is “We, Myself and I.” Presumably, in the outfits of the Muslim women interviewed, the “we” is exemplified by the veil and the modest long sleeves, and the “myself” by the brash, modern touches of Western coutoure. Theres’ no questioning of the assumption that fashion and consumerism do anything but allow the individual woman to express herself.
Tell me about it! The Prada satin turban? an Ungaro blouse? Actually, the other night strolling through a somewhat high-end mall in Cairo where many of the mannequins in the windows displayed “hip” hijab fashions, it occurred to me just how much more money a woman has to spend to observe hijab & be considered fashionable. For instance, a short-sleeved baby doll dress has to be paired up with another shirt, and worn over a pair of jeans, and then there’s all the accessorizing – like two different color scarves worn together for contrast, etc…
Your points are all excellent ones, but I was still intrigued by the fact that the women interviewed referred to muhagappropriate clothes as “sister-friendly” items – definitely some American-style identity politics going on there.
It’s surprising that Asra Nomani shows up in this article as she’s not veiled and actually makes a point of protesting the assumption that Muslim = veiled. Also kind of funny that these American Muslim women are looking for clothes that will hide their curves while their counterparts in Cairo are wearing super-tight tops and pants with high heeled boots along with their colour-coordinated hijabs.
[…] 8th, 2007 · No Comments Ursula Lindsey has a very interesting post on her reaction to this New York Times story on Muslim women who wear the hijab as well as […]
Enjoyed reading your writing. Thoughtful & Provocative. Makes me proud that Muslims or Arabs such as yourself speak from a point of view of pride, rather than humility to other people.
[…] Times in which the “trials” of being fashionable and a Muslim woman are illustrated:” Ever since I read this New York Times article a few days back about the identitarian fashion… Deborah Ann […]
This might seem like an obvious point, but in response to SP’s comment: I think the boddy-hugging fashions we see in Cairo, worn by the Cairene muhaggibat simply indicate that many of these women are not observing higab out of a genuine desire for modesty, but for a variety of other reasons (its now the thing to do, family pressure, compromise, etc). Generally, when the pressure to observe hijab is imposed externally (whether by a regime, or by one’s family), women may find ways to observe it in its loosest sense (such as women in Iran, particularly Tehran, who barely throw a loose scarf on their heads while caking their faces with make-up). This is probably why the decision should be up to each individual woman. The only thing I sort of appreciated about the article (though the point was never explicitly made) was the fact that non-muhagabba women were interviewed, who also discussed modesty, because there are many ways to be modest other than throwing a piece of cloth on your head. The dignity and pride with which a woman carries herself says infinitely more about her sense of self than what she wears.
PH – absolutely right re: the different reasons why women wear hijab, sometimes you can just see young women in Cairo pushing the limits, with the calf-length skirts and boots and tighter clothes, and there’s no reason to believe that many of these muhaggabat are doing it out of piety or a desire to be modest. There doesn’t seem to be anything self-conscious about it, and it’s probably just the new-veilers (Amr Khaled influenced or otherwise) and the Islamist halaqat crowd who see the veil as a religious or political statement any more. Even among the elite Amr Khaled types you get the sense that it’s more about the “look” now.
I don’t see the issue here. Traditional Islamic dress would never be associated with “brash modernity” by a Muslim or anybody else, right? So why try and hang some non-existent religious bias onto a writer who was pretty clearly writing a sympathetic piece?
And women do use clothing to express themselves – and most of those clothes get purchased from stores. Women do express themselves through consumerism and fashion.
It’s a fluff piece on hip urban muslims trying to look cool while staying halal – why read into it 5 layers deep to discover some orientalist capitalist sub plot?
Tom, you are buying into the same assumption as the writer that Ursula was trying to problematize: you are assuming that “brash modernity” and Islamic dress are diametrically opposed. I think what she, and many Muslims, would assert is that it’s not that simple. And that by assuming that one can’t be both “modern” and Muslim you inevitably, perhaps subconsciously in the case of “sympathetic” writers, turn Islam into something necessarily “medieval,” “backwards” or “archaic,” which in the context of Western cultural imperialism has real significance. Egyptian society today, and arguably since the days of Mohammed Ali and certainly since Nasser, is still wrestling with the Western concepts of “modernity” that assume that modernity and Islam are two different and opposing fields. Thus preventing, say, muhagabba women from appearing in front of a camera on state newscasts for fear of making Egypt appear “backwards.”
Whereas the existence of modern Islamic fashion should force us to question that dichotomy.
I mean, it’s not a stretch to say that the fundamental concept here of defining what “modernity” and “Islam” mean in relation to each other is the root conflict that drives al-Qaida and the entire GWOT from both sides. Which is why deconstructing fluff pieces matter.
[…] Liberation through shopping […]
Hi Tom.
What is “traditional” Islamic dress? The veil? Because the veil that Muslim women wear today in the Middle East and elsewhere is the product of an Islamist revival that is thoroughly modern. It is not–in the way it looks or in what it means–the “traditonal” veil that women wore say 50 or 100 years ago. The very idea of asserting your Muslim identity vis-a-vis the West through the way you dress is also the product of a series of thoroughly modern processes. “Tradition” and “modernity” as Ethan pointed out are artificial categories that we’re constantly in the process of making up.
As for deconstructing the New York Times–perhaps you’re right and I should spend my time more productively! But I do think that this article is representative of the
kind of glib generalizations that seem particularly common in discussions of Muslim/Arab issues. I would just like to see coverage that was a bit more original and critical. I don’t mean to take this particular reporter or this particular publication too much to task.
Finally, on the issue of “expressing oneself” through fashion. I’m really not sure how much we express when we buy an item of clothing–our taste, and how well we’ve responded to a certain advertisement campaign, and how much we want to belong to a certain sub-culture. My point was the unquestioning assumption that buying trendy Western clothes was somehow an act of emancipation–whereas Western feminists, for example, have long criticized the impact of advertising and the commodification of experience and identity.
[…] The Arabist » Liberation through shopping via global voices: On a New York Times Article on Muslim women’s fashion: “Theres’ no questioning of the assumption that fashion and consumerism do anything but allow the individual woman to express herself.” (tags: muslimwomen) […]
Ursula,
Wouldn’t “brash modernity” in clothing mean something fairly obvious to the average person? Revealing, colourful, individualistic, non-conformist, weird…Is that in any way related to traditional Islamic dress?
Re consumerism and self-expression – I agree in the abstract with your idea, but in practice, the same argument could be used for expression through music, art, reading, sports, hobbies…..Sometimes assumptions just deserve to go unquestioned. The problem with this kind of deconstruction is that once you start you cant really stop until you have invalidated everything, everywhere.
Recently I picked up the latest edition of Cosmopolitan and encountered an article discussing the “anti-fashion” movements taking place throughout the world. One of them was the invention of the “hijab-kini” a one piece, wet-suit type bathing suit complete with water proof headscarf so Muslim women who observe the hijab can enjoy summer fun in the sun. The bathing suit is also complete with a skirt and top made of the same bathing suit material to hide the curves of the women who wear it. Cosmopolitan cited this as a major “fashion don’t” because it was 1) unflattering and 2) not revealing enough for the beach. Unfortunately, this is a common conception in the United States today. More is less and more is unfashionable. Reading the New York Times article and your post made me think of this article again. Not just fashion on the street and in the office, but fashion on the beach is limited for those who decide to dress modestly for their faith. Once more, that is not oppressive, it is simply a personal choice. The fact that this is not understood makes me sad. I am not Muslim but you would not catch me prancing around the beach in a two piece, why is it that more people do not understand that? Living in Cairo for the past two months has really given me a good perspective on the issue of fashion in Muslim women. Many decide to wear the headscarf and dress modestly, many do it because it simply makes life easier for them if they do. Women dressed modestly are less likely to be harassed on the streets. It is a personal choice just as much as it is a practical choice, which is also not right. Why are women simply not allowed to decide for themselves how they want to dress without controversy, New York Times articles, or harassment on the streets? It should not be a “fashion don’t” to wear something more covering then dental floss at the beach. Just as women should be allowed to decide for themselves if they want to wear a headscarf or not. Fashion is a personal choice.
[…] in The Arabist, Ursula Lindsey discusses her views on an article on the way Muslim women dress up here. Share […]
Is there really a link between dressing modestly and not being harassed? Does countries with modestly-dressed women have less crimes committed against women? I have yet to see any link between dress-code and behavior towards women. You need to live in Cairo a bit longer… then maybe you’ll see that even the most modestly dressed get harassed. 🙂
“Cosmopolitan cited this as a major “fashion don’tâ€� because it was 1) unflattering and 2) not revealing enough for the beach.” Bullshit – “burkini’s” are very cute!
I recently attended a presentation by the Islamic Council of Victoria called “My Faith, My Body, My Choice” (or something like that) to get Muslim and non-Muslim women together to explain hijab for the uninitiated, why do we wear it, are we pressured by our husbands/fathers etc. It took the format of a “fashion parade” (our hosts were most keen that it was NOT a fashion parade as such) with pop music, where the volunteers modelled basically their own clothes for different situations, ie uni, work, weddings, etc. They spoke about their reasons for wearing it, acknowledging that it is not going to protect you against rape or assault (there is at least one incident I know of where girls have been raped *because* they were veiled – immediately after 9-11, natch), and also covering the fact that not all Muslim women veil and that this is a “conscience vote” for each Muslim.
The volunteers and organisers went around and sat at the large tables, the idea being that non-Muslims would be able to meet their first Real Live Muslim and ask unbelievably stupid questions that you’d hopefully be too polite to ask normally. I got lucky because the Real Live Muslim at my table already goes to my uni, so I was able to open a “so, how are you enjoying having working escalators in the Ming Wing” conversation. It was actually pretty enlightening for me – her mum, a white Australian, looked in appearance/dress like a totally conservative hardass, but from what I could hear of the conversation sounded like a genuinely tolerant and open-minded person, not just of Abrahamic religions but of non-monotheistic traditions, which was a real eye-opener for me.
Another person coped less with the whole thing, abusing an 18 year old woman of Lebanese descent who had decided to veil up a couple of years ago by saying “I’m sorry, I don’t accept you as an Australian” (!) and flouncing out of the event! So I guess this is the sort of person who will benefit from puff pieces in the liberal media about Muslim ladies’ fashion choices. But yeah, I totally hear you about the vapidity of the fashion-as-freedom agenda. After all, absolutely NO Western women wear high heels or shave their legs because of social pressure. NO THEY DON’T! AND IF YOU QUESTION THIS YOU ARE A TERRORIST!!!
Is there really a link between dressing modestly and not being harassed? Does countries with modestly-dressed women have less crimes committed against women? I have yet to see any link between dress-code and behavior towards women. You need to live in Cairo a bit longer… then maybe you’ll see that even the most modestly dressed get harassed.
I have a hard time believing that. I’ve lived in Egypt (though largely outside of Cairo), and have never seen modestly-dressed women being sexually harassed.
Beacon, muhaggaba girls were reportedly harrassed during the sexual harrassment fiesta in downtown Cairo at the last Eid. Admittedly, that’s more the exception than the rule.
For what’s it’s worth, Beacon, dress has nothing to do with sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is about intimidation and instilling fear; what the target is wearing isn’t really part of the equation. It can be, but certainly isn’t necessary. I don’t know any women who haven’t been sexually harassed, muhaggaba and otherwise.
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