Ever since Yuna has been in the spotlight in her native country of Malaysia (and now the burgeoning spotlight in the U.S.), she’s always covered her hair in reverence for her Muslim faith. It’s all part of staying true to herself, and she doesn’t feel pressured to reveal more skin as an entertainer.
In an interview with New York Magazine on Thursday (May 26), Yuna refuted the notion that Muslim women are oppressed when they dress modestly.
“I really like the idea of modesty. By the time I got into music, I was already wearing the scarf all the time, and it’s really personal to me, my Muslim beliefs, so I decided to keep it and find a way to work around it,” she said. “I don’t see it as a restriction or limitation — I can still be me and get into music and be an entertainer.”
Matter of fact, Yuna feels even MORE liberated.
“It’s my personal choice — it’s just kind of weird when people say ‘take off your hijab and be you’ because this is me, I’m being myself,” she said. “I’m not oppressed. This is very liberating that I get to do this and be in the music industry. I like that I don’t have to conform to the normal women-in-music-selling-sex-appeal thing.”
And she’s putting her conviction where her pockets are; the 29-year-old is working with a friend on a clothing line that’s based off on a more modest style. She’s also the face of Uniqlo’s Hana Tajima hijab capsule collection.
On May 20th, Yuna dropped her studio album Chapters featuring her collab with Usher, “Crush.” Purchase on iTunes HERE.
