HEY PURDAPHILES!

Who wants Raihana in Purdah? Arrest this extremism

Raihana R Khazi has taken on the extremist elements in Kerala society. This 23 year-old-woman from Kasargod has been getting threats from some Islamic extremists for not wearing Purdah. Raihana is an aeronautical engineering graduate and chooses to wear what she likes: jeans. But it irked some jobless fanatics. who want her in Purdah. When death threats started pouring in, she sought Kerala High Court’s help, which directed the state to give protection to her life.

The other day, she held a press conference in Calicut to say that none can dictate what she should wear, which is a personal choice. To become a Muslim, one doesn’t follow a particular dress code, Raihana feels. There are reports the opposition to her dress code came from within her family itself and that there is no need to make a fuss about. But being such a hotly debated subject, the issue needs some discussion.

Islam only asks its followers to dress modestly and doesn’t impose any dress code. There's no homogeneous dress code either for men nor for women, transcending boundaries. Purdah is not an Islamic dress. Common sense tells us that it is rather a dress meant for desert conditions. Its purpose is to guard one from the windy sandstorms and adverse climate conditions of deserts. Look at the traditional dress Arab men wear even today: the long rob is almost like a Purdah, except for the veil,

There are women who vouch for Purdah, saying it gives them a sense of protection. Fair enough. But that's doesn't mean obscurantists can go around imposing their sense of dress code. There are many other pressing, real instances of injustices and issues for these souls to feel moral outrage about.

Now I remember seeing an old black and white family photo of a friend’s grandpa in Calicut. There was nothing to suggest the `Muslimness’ in the attire of those women in the photo, except that his grandma’s head was covered with the tail end of the sari. That’s all. Purdah became prevalent in Kerala post-Babari demolition. A sense of Muslim insecurity coupled with the inculcation of fear by the Mullahs ensured that this desert dress has almost come to symbolize Muslim women. Was this black rob, covering head to toe, a sane way of establishing their identity?

Today, Purdah has become such a fashionable attire and it is big business. It's a classic case of mindless imitation in the name of religion. Lucky that camel is not a common animal in India!