The head covering is hip for young women
The head covering is hip for young women
Tomi Soetjipto, Reuters, Jakarta
Forget the stereotype image of Muslim women draped from head to
toe in all-enveloping robes, or girls shrouded in modest white
veils.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, the
Islamic headscarf is hip, particularly among the rich and
upwardly mobile.
A walk through upscale shopping malls like Plaza Senayan in
the capital Jakarta is a real eye-opener.
Women are covering up, but with a dazzling array of chic,
colorful and often body-hugging Islamic clothes, often
complemented by the latest accessories.
Many smart department stores have opened separate sections for
Islamic clothes and stores offer an assortment of magazines and
books dedicated to design and Islamic dress for the modern woman.
"Islamic dress has gone upper class," says fashion designer
Mira Aviva Zaki on the sidelines of her show at Jakarta's Hilton
Hotel.
Although most Indonesians have long opted for a relatively
liberal interpretation of the Muslim dress code, the basic rule
of covering the body from head to toe still applies.
"But we have added more colors and styles," says Zaki.
And the latest styles are proving a real hit.
"For active Muslim women like me, I don't feel out of fashion
any more because there are so many styles and colors to choose
from," says banker Ani Mudiarti, her head swathed in bright
orange.
Under former leader Soeharto, who lost power in 1998 after 32
years of iron-fisted rule, Islamic dress was deemed unfashionable
and carried a stigma of backwardness and militancy.
This largely stemmed from Soeharto's fear of creating an
alternative focus of power. A Muslim himself, he discouraged
strong public displays of Islamic values, fearing a rise in
fundamentalism.
Long regarded as a staunch defender of Javanese mysticism, for
most of his tenure Soeharto promoted pluralism, derived from the
state ideology of Pancasila.
As such, headscarf was only incorporated in official uniform
at public schools and government services in the early 1990s, at
a time when Soeharto -- in the twilight of his career -- was
garnering all the support he could.
Prior to that, religious dress could result in expulsion from
school, or losing your jobs at a government office.
"Like any other discrimination there was no specific rule
banning the use of Islamic dress but social and political
pressure was so high," recalled Tuti Herawati, managing editor of
Alia magazine, a monthly publication specializing in Muslim
fashion for women.
In 1990, when Soeharto gave his blessing to the creation of an
elite Muslim group openly dedicated to the Islamisation of
Indonesia, public perceptions of the headscarf started to change
slowly.
Ironically it was Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, a business mogul
and Soeharto's eldest daughter, who helped to erode the negative
public image after she decided to cover her head with loose
scarves.
But the boom in the business of Muslim fashion came only after
Soeharto was forced to step down in the face of the country's
worst economic crisis in decades.
"In the past two or three years, new designers have come up,
especially at the middle to upper class boutiques. Every month
there is always a new one," said Herawati, whose magazine has
tripled its circulation since it was first launched last July.
Even glamour models are embracing Muslim clothes.
Inneke Koesherawati, a former pin-up girl who once posed for
racy photographs for a glossy men's magazine, recalled the day
she decided to cover up.
"I just came back from the Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca) and my
body just didn't feel comfortable any more without being
covered," said Inneke whose past movies such as Metropolitan
Girls, Naughty Desires and The Stained Bed left little to the
imagination.
Now Inneke insists those days are long gone.
"I don't feel old-fashioned, in fact I feel more
cosmopolitan," she says. "Society has now grown more tolerant of
Islamic dress."