Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Politics of the veil

That actor Shabana Azmi has come under heavy attack from Muslim clerics for saying the Koran does not compel women to cover their faces shows that some sections of Muslims oppose their women's freedom and progress. Muslim women are already reeling under illiteracy and indifferent marriage and divorce laws. The community's attitude should undergo a positive change. It should fight illiteracy, poverty, and subjugation of women to prevent radical elements from hijacking Islam.

Inamdar Ramchandra,
Bangalore

* * *

Many readers have suggested that wearing the veil is the prerogative of Muslim women and that they should not be persuaded to give it up. But the question is: in a patriarchal order represented by our society can women really exercise their freedom of choice? I can say from experience that even today daughters-in-law wear only the traditional sari in many Bengali middle-class urban families. Anything else is no-no and is considered to be against cultural norms. Our visage is our most powerful communicator. The burqa denies women the most potent medium of communication. In a lighter vein, it also prevents them from bestowing the illuminating gift of a smile on others.

Subhashis Roy,
Kochi, Kerala

* * *

This refers to the article "Even other Muslims turn and look at me" (Oct. 25) by Zaiba Malik. On reading the experience of one wearing a niqab, I started feeling suffocated. If women feel so uncomfortable walking about in public wrapped from head to toe, I think they should quit wearing the niqab.

Lakshmi Subramaniam,
Bangalore

* * *

The article was in bad taste. One can have differences over the black colour of the burqa used by many. But no one has a right to mock the veil in the name of freedom of expression. Women who exhibit — and allow the measurement of — every part of their body to succeed in beauty pageants get applauded by even the Presidents and Prime Ministers of their countries. But women who cover themselves to protect their modesty are ridiculed and looked upon with contempt. What a fall!

Sameena Faheem,
Hyderabad

* * *

Few realise that it is the women in the West who are oppressed in the name of fashion. When they dress in a particular way because they are haunted by the question "what if people think I am not fashionable" and spend big money on make-up and cosmetic surgery, is it not oppression of a different kind? The hijab ensures that women are not judged by the way they look or the clothes they wear. Islam wants women to have an identity in the true sense and provides it to those who believe.

M.K. Maymoona,
Thrissur, Kerala

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It has become a fashion for politicians and modern Muslims to criticise Islam. It is believed that it is men who command Muslim women to wear the hijab. Men cannot force women to wear or discard the veil. Islam cares about the modesty of women so that they may be treated equal to men.

Danish Ansari,
Lucknow

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