Head Scarf Required at Official Functions : For Malaysian Women, Pressure to Be Islamic  
International Herald Tribune
May 13, 2000
Thomas Fuller

Rafidah Aziz, the trade and industry minister of Malaysia, wears bright, floral outfits and is famous for her stinging tongue and fierce negotiating tactics.

In a country where most Muslim women wear head scarves, Mrs. Rafidah rarely does — and has lashed out at anyone who suggested she should. So it came as a surprise when she announced that members of the women's wing of the governing party would now be required to do so at official functions.

"I have now decided, and friends agree with me, that in order to forestall any uncomfortable feelings or embarrassing situations, the head scarf will be worn as part of the Wanita uniform," Mrs. Rafidah said Thursday, referring to the women's wing of the party, which she heads.

Analysts say the announcement is significant because it reflects the conservative social pressures that middle-class Muslims in the country are feeling following the electoral victory last year of an Islamic party in two northern states.

The organization, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, requires Muslim women employed by the government to cover their heads and wear loose-fitting clothing. Party leaders strongly encourage mothers to stay home with their children. In one state controlled by the party, Kelantan, there are separate checkout lines for women and men in supermarkets, movie theaters are required to keep the lights on during showings and hotels and municipalities must build separate swimming pools for men and women.

Perhaps most contentious, however, is the issue of whether or not a woman should wear a head scarf — contentious especially among the small minority of women who don't.

"The assumption is that if you wear one you are being more Islamic," said Marina Mahathir, a social activist who is also the daughter of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. "This should be a matter of choice. I don't believe that the Koran absolutely says you have to wear a tudung. It's a matter of interpretation."

Tudung is the Malay word for head scarf.

The controversy is certainly not unique to Malaysia. Other cases around the globe include a Turkish lawmaker who refused to remove her scarf in Parliament and schoolgirls in France who were told to remove theirs in the classroom.

The issue is particularly striking in Malaysia because in historical terms it is relatively new: Thirty years ago very few Muslim women wore head scarves in the country. The ritual became more popular with the advent of the Iranian revolution, which influenced Muslims worldwide, and the policy of sending Malaysian students to the Middle East for their tertiary education.

"There is pressure in the workplace, pressure in schools," Mrs. Mahathir said. "It's a conformity thing. There are people who are saying, 'You women are getting too aggressive or too Westernized."'

Ivy Josiah, head of the Women's Aid Organization, speaks of a "growing conservatism" that cuts across political lines.

"I go to meetings and men will not shake my hand because it's seen as un-Islamic," she said, adding: "What you wear and how religious you appear has become more important than the position you take on issues and the work you perform. It's very disconcerting."

At the root of these social issues is a clash between two competing visions for the country. Prime Minister Mahathir exhorts the country's Muslims to embrace science and technology in order to propel Malaysia to first-world status. The religious leaders of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, by contrast, have as their main political goal an Islamic state and put religious concerns over economic ones.

The competing visions include not only differing views on the place of women in society, but also such things as which foreign languages should be taught. Students in schools run by the Islamic party tend to learn Arabic as their second language. The national curriculum, controlled by Mr. Mahathir's government, emphasizes English.

Mr. Mahathir's deputy and apparent successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, addressed the notion of these competing visions at the governing party's annual meeting this past week: "I welcome the Islamic revival," he said. "However, I am disappointed and regret to see some Muslims with a narrow agenda exploiting the spirit and the Islamic hope by spreading teachings which cause disunity and hatred among Muslims."

He added: "I am ready to be in the first line of defense together with you in the fight against this group."

Copyright © 2006 the International Herald Tribune