Let’s be respectful, whatever we wear

WITH reference to the column, “Wearing the hijab does not mean I am oppressed”,

March 23-27).

I attended the World Expo 2020 in Dubai where more than 192 countries were participating. I saw a beautiful signboard that invited people to visit Saudi Arabia and it was of a woman doing a yoga pose and meditation. Strangely, she was not wearing a headscarf.

The Saudis under liberal Saudi Arabian prince Mohamed Bin Salman, have brought about unprecedented reform in an ever-changing world.

At the women’s pavilion at the expo, it was highlighted that one of the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals was equality for women in all aspects of life. It is good that no woman should be oppressed irrespective of one’s religion.

Yes, it is true that many women of all faiths cover their heads during prayer but they certainly do not wear revealing garments during prayer. In an apparent contradiction, we see so many people wear modern Western clothing in public but they only shield their expensive clothing with black gowns and hijabs as a means to protect their beauty which is God-given in the first place.

Beauty is one’s birthright and a gift of God. Lustful men and women still admire each other irrespective of what they wear or how they cover themselves because the Western garments can be seen while walking.

In South Africa, some 40 years ago there was little emphasis on women wearing hijabs at a workplace, or even in schools. Children wore it when they went to Madrasah.

The hijab and burqa are traditional practices of the Arabic world and must be respected in their countries.

Former US first lady Michelle Obama was not forced to wear a hijab during her visit to Saudi Arabia. Most Muslims in South Africa came from India and yet the Arabic dress code has become more prominent.

Have we lost our identity that we want to impress the Arabs and behave like the Arabs? Saudi Arabia, which is the heartland of Islam, is becoming more progressive.

It was Ahmed Deedat who started importing Arabic culture, yet most Muslims were of Indian descent. We live in a Western country and we should dress in an appropriate manner.

One of the three judges who made the ruling regarding the wearing of hijabs in schools in India was a Muslim woman. She pronounced in the case that wearing the hijab was not contained in the Qur’an as a religious practice. She has since been provided Y-class security – a security detail of eight personnel, including 1 or 2 commandos and police personnel.

Is this how a Muslim judge, Khazi M Jaibunnisa, should be threatened by fringe elements? Where is her freedom to apply her legal expertise in a modern world? Should she be submissive and give in to radicalism since the hijab issue arose?

Those behind the agenda to promote a form of radical Islam in India for political purposes should understand that the Constitution of India protects all religions.

Let us be respectful of each other irrespective of our religious attire and be good human beings irrespective of the garb that we wear. Let’s not be judgmental in comparing others and whether God will be pleased with you or not. Be human first. That is what we are first and foremost.