Yesterday was the first time I saw Ibu X without jilbab. I had been invited to her home with the coordinator of the ELF program in Indonesia. We had dinner with several people from the community. I can’t explain how strange it felt to see this woman who I had always seen swathed in cloth in blue jeans and long sleeved blouse and without a head wrap. It was the first time I had ever seen someone without head covering after formerly seeing them always in jilbab. I may not be able to explain the shock and surprise at seeing her like this. I could only think it was ‘racy.’ My mind is clearly estranged from my own culture. What will I think when I return in the summer to the U.S.?
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3 Comments
You will probably think “why do all these fat ugly chicks wear so little clothes.”
When I go back to Oz (or even Singapore actually) after a few months in Indonesia I usually spend a couple of days being grossed out by all the big lumpy pale people, but I get over it.
A few years ago it was relatively rare to see women in jilbab in Makassar, except in the muslim universities, I guess. Has that changed?
From discussions with male Muslim friends, it seemed to me that the jilbab has a quite a fetish-like appeal and they actually look at women wearing it in a more sexual way. Not sure that this is in fact the intention…
Well, I guess it all depends on how you define jilbab. Wikipedia says that, to Indonesians, jilbab is synonomous with head scarf. That’s what I’m referring to; I see that a lot. A few students wear burqa at the university where I work. It’s definitely a jilbab majority in Makassar, or maybe I just frequent the places where the devout frequent.
As for creating a fetish, we tend to find things more interesting if they’re hidden from view.