‘Jilbab’ and head lice: How can religion address poverty?
'Jilbab' and head lice: How can religion address poverty? Lies Marcoes (The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM Jakarta Tue, September 6, 2022 'Jilbab' and head lice: How can religion address poverty? A hijab or 'jilbab'-wearing fourth-grader in the Central Java city of Karanganyar went viral on social media in the final week of August after her teacher helped her remove head lice and nits from her hair. The teacher explained that the girl’s mother, a scavenger, knew the girl had lice, but she was too busy earning a living to deal with the problem. This story is enough to make anyone’s hair stand on end. But for people who often visit villages, seeing lice in children’s hair is unsurprising. In the least developed regions where water is scarce, such as in the eastern part of Indonesia, I often encounter children and adults with head lice. Head lice live in dirty, damp hair. In 1984, while doing research in Bandung on the culture of poverty, I lived in...