Young Muslims in Cairo transform the hijab

The head covering may be a sign of piety – but it can also be a declaration of identity and fashion sense.

from the May 16, 2007 edition

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Women used to cut the cloth themselves for the scarves and fashion their own hijabs, she says. And still many women prefer the plain, simple wrap of fabric.

Hijab salesmen – and most are men – agree that business has boomed in the past few years. Ahmed Ali says the hijab market in Cairo, where he works, has transformed from shops that sold all clothing to hijab central.

And the salesmen keep a close eye on what's selling well. Cotton is big in summer. A sequined scarf is to be worn only with a plain shirt, or vice versa. And the more a scarf sparkles, the more formal it becomes.

In these downtown, working class markets, scarves go from anywhere between $1 to $6.

"We have a lot of women here that care about their appearance and because it's cheap, [for as much as $6] you can buy a scarf every day," says Mr. Ali, a scarf pin in his mouth.

Across town in the chic City Stars mall, scarves can run as much as $18. Lubna Mohammed has worked at The Tie Shop for more than two years and says she sees sequins making an exit as the new summer fashions come out. Now, she says, it's wooden beads that will be the rage.

"Because summer began, there are a lot of colors and a lot of customers, so we have to have new styles," she says.

As more women began to wearing the scarf, they experimented with new ways to tie it, such as braiding the ends of the scarves or pinning them up to look like flowers. There is even a magazine called Hijab, one of several that feature tying techniques and scarf styles.

"Girls want always a change, something to attract eyes of the young men so she wants to be different but still wear hijab," Barakat says.

At the downtown Pizza Hut, Zahar Hossam shares the booth with Mohammed. She wears just one beige scarf pinned neatly under the chin and adorned with a few minimalist sequins.

"There are a lot of fashions, but anybody can select [for herslef]. I prefer one layer," says Ms. Hossam. "I am an engineer, and there are a lot male colleagues, so I want to be very formal with them."

But, with a laugh, she admits there is another reason. She is married, she says. "So I don't care about fashion."

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