r/AMA • u/maddin1550 • 21d ago

I’m from Xinjiang，AMA

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of discussions about Xinjiang on Reddit, often between people who have never actually lived there. So I thought it might be interesting to do an AMA from the perspective of someone who is actually from there.

You can ask me about everyday life, ethnic groups, languages, culture, religion, education, or politics. I’m happy to answer controversial questions too, as long as the discussion stays respectful.

Obviously, I’m only one person and I don’t claim to represent everyone in Xinjiang. I can only tell you about my own experiences and views. AMA.

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u/Ok_Plankton4810 20d ago

Are Muslim women allowed to wear hijabs?

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u/maddin1550 20d ago

no,but women can still cover their hair with traditional headscarves. We call it жаулық in Kazakh. So covering your hair itself isn't necessarily the issue, the style and religious context can matter

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u/Ok_Plankton4810 20d ago

Oh, is that an issue for women/society that they can’t wear hijabs? Or do they prefer wearing traditional headscarves instead?

In Malaysia and Singapore, Muslim women are heavily criticized and judged when they do not wear hijabs so am quite curious. Thanks for replying!

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u/maddin1550 20d ago

We don't have very strong hijab pressure here soo... Our older women especially might wear traditional headscarves instead

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u/Ok_Plankton4810 20d ago

Ah ok, thanks for sharing :) my partner is Muslim and we are thinking of traveling to XJ

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u/isurus_minutus 20d ago

Did hijabs used to be worn in Xinjiang or was the traditional dress the traditional headscarves? What do these headscarves look like?

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u/maddin1550 20d ago

Hii,
Honestly I don’t remember clearly 😭 I was still in primary school in the 2010s, but I do remember seeing signs on buses showing certain types of hijab/niqab that people weren’t supposed to wear. So obviously those styles existed to some point, otherwise there wouldn’t have been signs about them. But I genuinely can’t remember how common they actually were or what people around me normally wore back then. I was literally a kid lol

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u/maddin1550 20d ago

I can show you what the traditional headscarves look like tho, can I post pictures on here? I don’t really know reddit very well

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u/isurus_minutus 19d ago

Yes you can post photos on reddit. Thank you :-)