But observers say the nation has become more conservative in recent years and today most Muslim women wear one, known locally as a “tudung” and used to cover the head and neck.
Maryam, who was made to wear a headscarf from the age of nine, says she realised 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 had been told that [wearing the headscarf] is mandatory and if I don’t wear it, it’s sinful. And then I found out that it actually wasn’t, so I felt very cheated – like all your life you’ve been told one thing, and it turns out to be a lie,” she explained.
It was a difficult personal decision but when she went public, detailing her story in her book Unveiling Choice, she faced a vitriolic backlash and death threats.
Malaysia’s religious affairs minister expressed concern and she was hauled in for questioning under a law against insulting Islam – the country has a dual-track legal system, with Muslim citizens subject to sharia laws in certain areas.
Maryam believed officials were concerned she was encouraging other women to “de-hijab”, but insisted this is not the case. “I’m not telling women what to think, I’m asking them to revisit certain assumptions and certain theories that have been taught to them over the years,” the 28-year-old said.
“Even without legal criminalisation, women are facing social criminalisation when they want to take [the hijab] off,” she warned, adding that women like her are in a “jail of society’s expectation”.
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To mark the release of her book, which she describes as a story of resistance against patriarchy in religion and wider society, she took part in a talk called “Malay Women and De-Hijabbing” which fuelled the furore against her.
Head coverings differ around the Muslim world, from scarves that leave the face visible, to the niqab that leaves the areas around the eyes clear and the all-concealing burka with just a mesh screen to see through.
In the West they remain controversial amid debates over freedom of religious expression and women’s rights – France does not allow students to wear hijabs in schools and along with Belgium, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands has a total ban on wearing the niqab or burka in public.
Muslim women in Malaysia, which is more than 60 per cent Muslim but is also home to large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, wear a headscarf that covers the hair and chest, though it is not legally required.
Critics say this expectation of modesty was not the case a generation ago and is a result of the greater influence of increasingly vocal religious hardliners.
Maryam has been targeted by angry zealots but has also been hailed as the voice of the modern Malaysian woman by some in the social media generation keen to express their individuality as well as their faith.
“Women in this part of the world, when they take off the hijab, what happens to them? They get bullied, they get harassed,” said Maryam.
Malaysian rights group Sisters of Islam agree women without headscarves come under heavy scrutiny from family, colleagues and in public – making the decision “difficult and traumatic”.
Maryam argued her choice was to step away from patriarchal instruction rather than her faith.
“I was born a Muslim, I’m still a Muslim – I’m no less of a Muslim because I removed my hijab,” she explained. She is not alone.
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Even some prominent female politicians in Malaysia such as Rafidah Aziz and former central bank governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz do not cover their heads, nor do the wife or daughter of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad.
In urban areas, young women have experimented with turbans and other ‘fashionable’ head coverings, despite criticism they flout religious guidelines.
Sarah, a consultant from a financial firm who gave a pseudonym to avoid upsetting her family, no longer wears the headscarf, believing it to be a patriarchal expectation.
“Malay men especially at an authoritative level somehow have this mindset … that Malay women need to appear in a certain manner, but it doesn’t mean that these people who are wearing tudung are any better.”
Religious authorities have yet to close their investigation into Maryam, meaning the possibility of further action remains. But she has no regrets about her decision to open up about her experience: “Society needs to be awakened.”
SINGAPORE DEBATE
Meanwhile, neighbouring Singapore has been confronting its own debate about the hijab in public.Every day before she starts her shift at a government hospital in Singapore, Farah has to remove her hijab, which she has worn since she was a teenager.
Although minority Muslim women can freely wear the hijab in most settings in Singapore, some professions bar the headscarf – and a recent case has triggered fresh debate on diversity and discrimination in the workplace.
Now Farah has joined a growing number of Muslims – who account for about 15 per cent of Singapore’s 4 million resident population – calling for the ban to end, with an online petition gathering more than 50,000 signatures.
“They told me I can’t work here if I wear the tudung,” said Farah, using the local Malay term for hijab, as she recounted her job interview two years ago for a physiotherapist position.
“I felt a sense of helplessness, it’s unfair. Why has the tudung become a barrier for us to look for jobs?” asked the 27-year-old, who used a pseudonym for fear of reprisals at work. She accepted the job eventually but has to remove her headscarf whenever she is at work.
Her case is not an oddity. There was outcry last month when a woman was asked to remove her hijab to work as a promoter at a local department store.
Halimah Yacob, Singapore’s first female president who herself wears the hijab, said there is “no place” for discrimination when asked her view of the case.
The store reversed its policy, but many took to social media pointing out restrictions remain on wearing the hijab for some civil servants, including policewomen and nurses.
The debate surrounding the hijab is not new in Singapore, a modern city state which takes pride in its multicultural and multiracial background. The country is predominantly ethnic Chinese, many of whom follow Buddhism or Christianity.
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In 2013, then Muslim affairs minister Yaacob Ibrahim said wearing a hijab at the workplace would be “very problematic” for some professions that require a uniform.
The following year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the hijab issue was about “what sort of society do we want to build in Singapore”, according to local media reports.
Singapore’s police force and the health ministry did not respond to repeated requests seeking comment.
Referring to the department store case, Singapore’s president said discrimination in the workplace was “disturbing” as it deprives a person from earning a living.
“People should be assessed solely on their merits and their ability to do a job and nothing else,” Halimah wrote on her Facebook, which attracted more than 500 comments.
“During this Covid-19 period when concerns over jobs and livelihoods are greater, incidents of discrimination exacerbate anxieties and people feel threatened,” she added.
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Some people have urged consistency, noting that the turban – headgear worn by Sikh men – is allowed at work in Singapore.
“Why the double standard,” asked Nur, a Muslim law student who signed the petition posted online in June.
Additional reporting by Thomson Reuters Foundation
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