Would you pay RM33,000 for a Swarovski Crystal-studded Tudung? Only in Kelantan..

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(source: NST)

Some people just love luxurious things like handbags *coughs*bijan*coughs*, watches and shoes. Anything with an exclusive brand logo slapped on it, is good to go. We’re not that complicated, even if we got the moolah we can still be kampung af.

So it’s no surprise that some hijabs worn by some Muslim women in Malaysia are just as exclusive, just check out dUCkscarves and you’ll forever be traumatised by the price tag of a single cloth. We really do love capitalism, huh?

Recently, a businesswoman in Kelantan became the owner of the most expensive headscarf sold this year when she bought it for RM33,000. The ‘bawal’ headscarf is covered in Swarovski crystals. She must be feelin’ like Rihanna..

via GIPHY

The purchase has set a new record which was previously held by a RM21,600 custom-tailored headscarf which was also produced by Bawal Exclusive’s (BE) As Galleria (AG) in Lembah Sireh. AG manager Rabiatu Hasmak Ghani said the prices of the headscarves depended on the design and number of Swarovski crystals, which made BE a luxurious and exclusive brand.

She said last year, AG contributed RM6 million in sales of BE scarves, with prices ranging from RM60 to thousands of ringgit, depending on orders placed by the customers.

(source: BE FB)

“The increase in sales was recorded during festive seasons and was apparent after the implementation of the zero-rated Goods and Services Tax (GST) last month. Online vending contributed to 30 per cent of the overall sales,” Rabiatu said when NST met her at a gala dinner to celebrate loyal customers at the Renaissance Hotel.

One of the customers present, Hanuni Farda Habir, 38, told NST that she had purchased headscarves with a total value of RM96,000 for the past year only. “I buy headscarves for my own satisfaction, apart from selling them online. I like BE headscarves because of its comfortable materials and it suits those who prefer exclusive designs,” she said.

How does wearing a RM33k crystal-studded headscarf make you more pious, one might ask? The simple answer is that it doesn’t. It is in fact the complete opposite of what wearing a headscarf is suppose to achieve in a religious context.

Wearing a headscarf, be it a tudung or hijab, is widely practiced in Malaysia by Muslim women in line with their religion’s teaching that a man should know a woman for her mind and not her body. The covering of one’s head is also a sign of respect to God and act of modesty (where a person hides their crowning glory aka hair)–and to this extent, wearing a headscarf is commonly practiced by Christians, Hindus, Muslims and numerous other religions all over the world.

Although wearing the hijab, or tudung, is not mandatory for women in Malaysia, some government buildings enforce within their premises a dress code which bans women, Muslim and non-Muslim, from entering while wearing “revealing clothes”. There is also a cultural backlash against women in the form of teguran–where mainly men single out women for small offences like not wearing their headscarfs properly.

However one looks at it, why women wear tudungs and whether they feel compelled to do so — one thing is certain: it’s big money.

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