By Mohammad Akram Gill, Detroit, MI
A drumbeat had been going on in the US and the other western news media against burqa ever since the Taliban came into power and started implementing their draconian and conservative version of Islam and Shariah in Afghanistan.
They had declared that Afghan women must wear burqa when they come out of their homes. Those who were guilty of contravening their edict were manhandled, sometimes beaten and treated harshly. The defenders of women’s rights all over the world rose up in unison against this barbaric and uncultured practice, which suppressed the women’s freedom of choice. I was one of those who felt that Taliban were wrong in implementing such harsh measures against their womenfolk. I still feel the same way.
To impose burqa on women is wrong, but we should not forget that this also is a way of life in that part of the world. My mother and elder sister wore burqa although nobody, I believe, had asked them to do so. My mother was illiterate and conservative; that however does not mean that she did not know anything better. She wanted a way of life for herself that conformed to the general way of life in the society. My younger sister wore burqa before her marriage. She is a university graduate. But this was by choice and not by imposition. The government can have rules for determining improper dress for the people, not only for the women. Indecent exposure is forbidden in most countries of the world. Religion prescribes modesty in dress and behavior. I do not know if religion prescribes absolute separation of sexes; if it does, it should be reinterpreted according to the needs of the present time. The modern woman wants to work in the government and public sectors and she should have the right to do so.
Now that the Taliban are out of power and control, there is no compulsory enforcement of burqa on women in Afghanistan. Yet majority of the women that one sees in the streets of Afghanistan, on television, are still in burqa. They feel quite comfortable in doing so because it is not imposed on them by force, otherwise why will they continue wearing burqa. One of the Afghan women commented on television that without burqa she feels as if she is wearing nothing. Those women who want to wear burqa should have every right to do so unless it is determined that wearing burqa is a public hazard. Burqa is not a symbol of backwardness although it is a conservative practice in the society, which may be due for change.
Lest I am misunderstood, I want to make it clear that I am not supporting that women should necessarily wear burqa. Nor am I suggesting that those who wear it are necessarily uncultured or backward, because many of the burqa wearing women are educated and cultured. I am also not saying that by discarding burqa, a woman automatically becomes enlightened. Freedom of choice is more important than wearing or discarding burqa. Had burqa become a statement of fashion, it would have spread like a wild fire almost all over the Muslim world.
If you want my opinion on this issue, I think burqa is indeed a very uncomfortable and demeaning wear.
Change takes its own time. Burqa will disappear in due time but until then those who want to wear it should have the freedom to wear it without any fear. And those who want to discard it should not be prevented from doing so.
According to Ghalb:
Jalway nay bhee kaam kiya waan niqab ka
Masti sey har nigah teray rukh pey bikhar gayee