For
Cindy, design is very much a socially involved process and potentially conflict
resolving in its ability to approach a social problem from a radically
unconventional angle in order to seek a compromise. This methodology is
beautifully exemplified by the Capsters, which present a compromise between
religious requirements and life in a modern Western society. This is achieved,
argues Cindy, by emphasizing the accessorial function of her designs rather than
their purely religious function. Thus, her Capsters retain the religious aura of
the Islamic hijab and conform to its physical requirements while at the same
time having an own unique character and look that could potentially be worn by
non-Muslims as well.
From
an orthodox Islamic perspective, the accessory approach may defy part of the
headscarf’s function to distinguish. However, Cindy argues, the ultimate
important outcome of this strategy will be to liberate the hijab of its
political, ideological, and religious stigmas and thus make it more socially
acceptable in a non-Muslim society. In this way the negative image of the
headscarf will be neutralized and eventually reversed as the headscarf itself
becomes a means of integration.
Sharing
Motives
Since
the launch of the Capsters and the media attention generated by it, Cindy has
embarked on several important projects focusing on intercultural dialogue and
elaborating on the theme of the hijab. In 2002 she published a book titled Sharing
Motives together with female photographer Giti Entezami, presenting 25
portraits of Muslim women with a great variety of Islamic head coverings
accompanied by 25 quotes illustrating their reasons to cover their hair. The
presentation of this publication traveled across the Netherlands accompanied by
an extensive program of debates and lectures around the theme of the headscarf.
The exposition aimed at creating more understanding for Muslim women wearing the
hijab and making the Dutch public more familiar with their lives and
motivations. This project constituted a unique and important endeavor at a time
when ignorance of the hijab and its meaning was regularly displayed by the media
in the most unsubtle and disheartening way.
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A headscarf for tennis
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Recently
Cindy has been employed to design a safe headscarf for Muslim women working for
the Service Judicial Institutions (for example, as security personnel in prisons
and other penitential institutions). However, the scarves are still shelved,
awaiting a reluctant minister of justice to approve their actual use.
In
the meantime Cindy is back in her studio working on a new line of fashionable
Capsters to conquer the wardrobes of modern, fashion-conscious Muslim women. Her
ultimate goal is to update the collection twice every six months.
Capster
On or In the Head?
In
spite of the avid national and international media attention and many supportive
reactions from Muslims as well as non-Muslims, the Capsters have not yet reached
the practical status of a basic in the young Muslim woman’s wardrobe.
There
are a few possible factors that may clarify the moderate practical success of
the Capsters:
Obviously,
social and political pressures are not the primary factors forming Muslim
girls’ choice of dress. Although they creatively adapt current European trends
to Islamic requirements, the main trend-setters of hijabi fashion are
self-evidently located within the Muslim community itself, and just as much
subject to globalization as Western fashion trends; that is, Egyptian hijab
styles tend to be popular with the Muslim communities in the West because of
Egypt’s central cultural position in the Muslim world and satellite TV.
Likewise, Muslim women in the Netherlands tend to wear headscarves produced in
Turkey, and to a lesser extent Morocco, because of the background of the
respective Muslim minorities there.
The
manner of pinning or wrapping the hijab has, nevertheless, remained relatively
constant and uniform because of both the specific nature of the Islamic dress
requirements as well as the general conservatism of the Muslim community.
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A headscarf for open skate
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The
gap between the radically individualist designs of Cindy van den Bremen’s
Capsters and the generally traditional and uniform tastes of the
community-oriented Muslim minorities may at present be just a bit too wide to
bridge. Young Muslim women are generally no less fashion-conscious than their
non-Muslim counterparts, and for them to massively adopt a hijab that shows no
close resemblance to either traditional Islamic hijab styles or any item already
worn by non-Muslims is very unlikely without a major advertisement campaign that
is uniquely tailored to the particularities of the Muslim community.
In
spite of these considerations, there is no doubt that the concept of the
Capsters and its underlying intention to de-emphasize the heavy ideological load
of the hijab and reclaim the image of the Muslim woman as an independent and
involved citizen, has opened up a very important space in the Dutch hijab
discourse-a space that, if stretched wide enough by eloquent and socially active
Muslim women, may one day define the entire debate.
Rahma
Bavelaar is
assistant editor and recently staff writer for islamonline.net. She holds MA in
Oriental and African Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), UK.
You can reach her at shabeel02@yahoo.co.uk
