Hijab

We’ve been in Malaysia for almost 2 months now, and have just decided to try out the hijab.

Malaysia is a predominately Muslim country, and around 95% of our students follow Islam. We thought it would be nice to try it out and embrace the Malaysian culture to the fullest.

Most Muslim women wear the hijab as they believe God has told them to as a means of fulfilling His commandment for modesty. This also includes the wearing of loose-fitting, non-revealing clothes. This is why the Malaysian national dress is the Baju Kurung – the long top and skirt I am wearing in a previous post.

Wearing a hijab is a personal choice made by women – although at school, it is part of the uniform for all Muslim students. Some wear it to show their devotion to God, others wear it as an expression of their cultural identity and do not see it as obligatory to their faith.

 

On Monday, we had the day off school as it was yet another public holiday. Lyall and I decided to go to Kuala Kangsar for the day. We thought we would buy a headscarf just to try it out. Our plan was to buy 1 or 2 each. We somehow came away with 7 each!

We had no idea what we were looking for, so we found a shop with a very helpful assistant. We bought a couple of shawls there, as well as a hijab that was already sewn so we don’t have to worry about trying to wrap it.

Further along the street, we had a look for some more, but we had no such luck. Back to first shop we went! This time, we bought a few more shawls and ‘instant’ hijabs, as well as an underscarf and some pins. The shop assistants were laughing at us, but didn’t understand when we were asking for help or asking what else we needed.

On the way back to the bus, we found a small stall with a very large selection of beautiful scarves. So of course, we bought more!

We sat for hours on Monday night watching YouTube tutorials and calling home to let them laugh at us! I thought I had done pretty well at it.

That was until I got to school on Tuesday morning..

I got up early just to wrap my headscarf around my head. I thought I was looking fierce!

Everyone in the staff room seemed to love it. Everyone wanted to talk to us. When we went to the cafe for breakfast, everyone gasped and stared. Our principal bought our breakfast for us because it was “a special day” for us; somebody offered to buy us more scarves and Baju Kurung’s; people were taking our pictures… All I wanted was some toast!

When I walked into my class, all my students shrieked and looked really happy. Until I told them they had an exam to do!

I helped out in Holly’s class and everyone wanted a selfie with me and kept telling me how “cute” and “beautiful” I am. It’s all a bit overwhelming. I also keep getting told I look Arabian!

During the day, my efforts at wrapping my scarf vanished. It was now just a tangled heap on my shoulders! Thankfully, one of the girls in Holly’s class wrapped it again for me. I’m still in the process of trying to learn how to do it myself.

Today, I thought I would stick with simple and easy, so I’m wearing an instant on. I can see myself wearing the hijab regularly because lets face it – I’m far too lazy to wash my hair!

Hope you enjoy the pictures below and get a good laugh at how chubby my face looks!