Veiling for Integration:

A Dutch Designer’s Cause for the Hijab

An adapted headscarf for aerobics

In Physical Education Classes

In the mid 1990s-in the context of intensifying debates in the Dutch media, centering around the hypothetical failure of “multiculturalism” and the possible stagnating effect of Islam on integration-the Dutch Commission of Equal Treatment passed a verdict that allowed high schools to prohibit Muslim girls to wear the headscarf in physical education classes if this would compromise safety precautions. Muslim girls were advised to wear a swim cap and a high turtleneck instead. Many girls refused to wear headgear that would not fulfill the Islamic modesty requirements and chose to skip physical education classes altogether.

In 1999 the controversial verdict and the discussions still raging around the headscarf in general caught the attention of Cindy van den Bremen, then a graduate student in the Design Academy of Eindhoven. Seeking inspiration for her graduation project, the socially conscious student was struck by the discriminating character of the Commission’s decision and resolved to design a line of sport headscarves that would conform to safety requirements as well to the Islamic dress code.

Another important motivation was to refute the persistent prejudice that the headscarf is “forced upon” Muslim women by their male relatives. Cindy’s idealistic intentions did not go unchallenged; her supervisors, not unaffected by the common prejudices about the oppressive nature of the headscarf, initially did not see any benefit in such a project. To convince them Cindy compiled a large number of quotes by Muslim girls, confirming the headscarf to be their personal choice.

Under the name of “Capsters,” a collection of four unique and trendy sport headscarves followed, each adapted in shape and material to its particular purpose: tennis, skating, aerobics, and outdoor. To make sure the Capsters would conform to the needs of its target group and Islamic regulations, Cindy spoke to many Muslim girls wearing the headscarf and sought counsel with an imam.

Cindy is acutely aware of the social and political implications, which form an integral part of the concept for her designs, and has tirelessly explained this to the puzzled media, who were fascinated by this Dutch non-Muslim designer taking on the cause of the hijab with such unprecedented creativity. Cindy has since become a familiar face in the Dutch media as a dedicated advocate for the freedom for women to cover or not.

Capsters: A Unique Potential

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.

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.

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 the IOL Art & Culture editor and holds an MA in African Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, UK. You can contact her at shabeel02@yahoo.co.uk.