Bathroom Sign Modesty

So most people know that Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country… however, as the population of Malaysia is comprised of people from many different backgrounds, including large Chinese and Indian populations (who can be Muslim, but can also be Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, etc.), there is a diversity of values, customs and practices here. While many Malaysia women dress modestly, wearing long flowing skirts or dresses with matching hijabs (or head coverings), some Malaysians and many Chinese and Indians wear western clothes. As such, there is not enforcement to dress ‘modestly’, and through the free market people here can choose what they want to wear, how much they want to show (or not show), etc.

With that said, Malaysia sometimes finds funny ways to insert modesty into places that you wouldn’t even think about. One pretty hysterical example of this was ‘unveiled’ to me yesterday when I was at a meeting in the Takaful Malaysia building near Pasar Seni.  As I was walking towards the elevator on my way to the meeting, I saw a Malaysian-style version of the female figure next to a conventional male figure, connotation the elevator was around the corner.

In seeing this I stopped in my tracks and stared. I had never really thought about it before.  If you examine a traditional female figure used on bathroom signs and you think about it, the woman does appear to have a pretty short dress on, bear arms, and of course (in an Islamic view) is showing her hair.  I guess someone in Malaysia took it upon themselves to change this, in order to provide a modest environment for all.

So I guess Malaysia’s modified version solves these problems.  At a minimum, it put a smile on my face à only in Malaysia.