‘Indonesian women on trial speak through their clothing’
University of Colorado Boulder anthropology Professor Carla Jones says what Indonesian women wear in court can convey messages of piety and shame
MNTV News Desk – Fashion is an important mode of self-expression, but it can also be a significant component of social communication. University of Colorado Boulder anthropology Professor Carla Jones’ recently published research focusing on fashion within the Indonesian criminal justice system illustrates how appearance can be a public and personal feature of social and political communication.
She noticed that when Indonesian women were accused of corruption, they faced intense scrutiny about their appearances, both before and during their trials, according to Colorado Arts and Science Magazine.
Jones says she noticed that female defendants in corruption cases adjusted their clothing in ways that went far beyond the public norms for the majority-Muslim country.
Modesty was a particularly compelling visual strategy. Although modest styles are increasingly popular globally, the styles that accused Indonesian women adopted for trials were especially visible when they appeared in court and were very different from their styles of dress prior to their trials, Jones says.
Many women, she says, would elect to wear facial coverings, called a niqab, when appearing before a judge. Wearing a niqab is not especially common in Indonesia. Jones argues in her paper that women choosing to express their religion so outwardly was also an effort to appear pious and ashamed of their actions (or more innocent) to judges and to the public.
The women who wore a niqab to court tended to get shorter prison sentences than others did. “Their attorneys also did a really good job conveying that they are mothers, and their justification was to provide for their children,” she says.
Jones’ interest in Indonesia started when she visited the country in college, but her youth in Southeast Asia also played a part in her sustained interest in the culture there. As an anthropologist, she says, she is interested in diversity–in which Indonesian culture and social life is rich.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
