Urban Female Youth Choosing ‘Hijab’: A meaningful scarf

Abstract

In the 21st century adapting hijab has increased significantly among the young Bangladeshi Muslim females. Though the history of Muslim inhabitants in this land goes way beyond in time but the gradual rise in the use of hijab is a comparatively new phenomenon, and what makes it more intriguing is its wide popularity among the urban female youth. Therefore, this choice of the urban young female population demands to be studied in its own right and beyond the simplistic understanding of the practice as being a religious one alone. To address this, the present study aims to understand the symbolic meaning and the reasons behind hijab’s huge popularity. To be more specific, the study examines if ‘hijab’ can be identified as a ‘capital’ by using Bourdieu’s concept of ‘capital’ as the theoretical lens. It also attempts to identify the increasing use of ‘hijab’ as a representation of ‘cultural hybridity’ following Homi K. Bhabha, and its impact on the social identity of young Bangladeshi women. The empirical data are derived from online surveys, conducted through semi structured questionnaires on 30 young Bangladeshi urban women, aged between 18-30. purposive sampling was used as a technique, and thematic approach has been considered to code and analyze the data. The study reveals some noteworthy factors like the symbolic value of hijab, young urban women’s self-perception who wear hijab. This study also found that hijab is a fashion statement as well in today’s Bangladesh, indicating an important social and cultural change.