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KUALA LUMPUR: Harassed and investigated by religious authorities, activist Maryam Lee is a controversial figure in Malaysia.
His crime? Speaking about her decision to stop wearing the hijab and criticizing what she sees as institutional patriarchy in Islam.
Although wearing a “tudung” is not mandatory in Malaysia, experts say that the nation has become more conservative in recent years and is worn by most Muslim women today.
Maryam, who was forced to wear a headscarf since the age of nine, said she realized in her mid-20s that she was conforming to a social expectation rather than a religious requirement and decided to remove it.
“All my life, I’ve been told that (wearing the headscarf) is mandatory and if I don’t wear it, it’s a sin,” she said. “And then I found out that it really wasn’t.”
It was a difficult personal decision, but when it was made public, detailing his story in his book “Unveiling Choice,” he faced backlash and death threats.
The religious authorities expressed concern and detained her for questioning under a law against insult to Islam.
Maryam believes officials were concerned that she was encouraging other women to “ditch the hijab,” but insists that this is not the case.
‘Prison of the expectation of society’
“I am not telling women what to think, I am asking them to review certain assumptions and certain theories that they have been taught over the years,” said the 28-year-old.
“Even without legal criminalization, women face social criminalization when they want to take off (the hijab),” she said, adding that women like her are in a “prison of the expectations of society.”
To mark the launch of her book, which she describes as a story of resistance against patriarchy in religion and society in general, she participated in a talk entitled “Malaysian women and deshijabbing” that fueled the furor against her.
Critics say wearing the hijab was not the case a generation ago and is the result of the increased influence of the increasingly vocal religious hardliners.
Maryam has come under fire from angry fans, but has also been hailed as the voice of the modern Malay woman by some members of the social media generation eager to express their individuality and faith.
‘No less Muslim’
“Women in this part of the world, when they take off their hijab, what happens to them? They are harassed, harassed, “said Maryam.
Malaysia’s human rights group, Sisters of Islam, agrees that unveiled women are under intense scrutiny from family, colleagues and the public, making the decision “difficult and traumatic. “.
Maryam said her choice was to walk away from patriarchal instruction rather than her faith.
“I was born a Muslim, I am still a Muslim. I am no less Muslim because I took off my hijab, ”she said.
Sarah, a consultant for a financial firm who gave a pseudonym so as not to upset her family, no longer wears the headscarf, believing it to be a patriarchal expectation.
“Malaysian men, especially at an authoritarian level, somehow have this mindset that Malaysian women should appear a certain way, but that doesn’t mean that these people wearing tudung are better,” he said.
Religious authorities have yet to close their investigation into Maryam, which means there is the possibility of further action.
But she doesn’t regret her decision to open up about her experience. “It is necessary to wake up society,” he said.
