VEILED EMPOWERMENT: THE BAJU KURUNG AS AN ISLAMIC SYMBOL OF MODESTY, FEMININITY, AND MALAY WOMEN’S AGENCY IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15282/ijhtc.v10i2.12855Keywords:
Third world feminism, Baju kurung, Malay women, Rukun Negara, IslamAbstract
This study examines how Islamic values influence the design and symbolism of Baju Kurung, a Malay traditional dress, in negotiating modesty, femininity, and women's empowerment in Malaysia. Within Third World feminism and Islamic cultural identity, the research bridges the gap in academic literature that tends to marginalize non-Western expressions of agency through dress. Approaching it qualitatively, the study employs textual interpretation of literature from the past in the form of Ibu Zain's writing and cultural discourse analysis of elements of customary designs and their meaning. The findings prove that Baju Kurung is more than a piece of clothing; it is a socio-religious symbol reflecting decency values, spiritual devoutness, and national identity values. Islamic beauty with loose figures, non-revealing shapes, and symbolic cutting—are central to the means by which Malay women negotiate both femininity and religion. The study contributes to Islamic fashion studies and postcolonial feminist studies in offering Baju Kurung as veiled empowerment, countering Westernized presumptions on dress, freedom, and female agency in Muslim worlds.
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