A few days ago, I was walking in our neighborhood* and saw a woman strutting down the street with lycra white tights, knee-high boots, a low-cut shirt and.... a hijab.
That night, I mentioned the look to some friends at dinner. "Oh yeah," replied L., herself Muslim, observant, and style-y. "She's a ho-jabi." As in, L. then explained, "Women who wear the hijab and dress all ho-ey."
Sure enough there are more than a few links to the term--including an entry on the ever handy Urban Dictionary.
And just to be clear, we're not talking about actual prostitutes. Just women who dress a little racy--and keep their heads covered.
* Our neighborhood is kinda sorta like the Chelsea of Damascus. Lots of hip people, and lots of tight clothing, often worn by men (though they tend to be a slightly different demographic than in Chelsea). I've been meaning to get some photos of and video and create a virtual tour for the blog. But slightly hard to do since...our camera was swiped.
I've heard them called "muhajibabes" too (for your non-Arabic speaking readers, "muhajiba" being the Arabic term for a woman who wears a veil). I'm thinking of trying the look when I go back to the US just for kicks. ;-)
Posted by: Nora | December 14, 2007 at 08:04 AM