Hijab: A Sartorial Manifestation Of Stockholm Syndrome
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
3 April
2022
Now That
The Religio-Political Furore Over Hijab Has Subsided Slightly, It's Time To
Assess The Whole Issue In A Disenchanted And Unprejudiced Manner
First of
all, nowhere in 6, 236 verses of Al-Furqan, does one find the categorical
mention of veil or hijab as mandatory on women. The Quran speaks of female
modesty and its sacrosanct sanctity but doesn't make it a sine qua non.
According
to Umberto Eco, the father of Semiotics (Science of signs and symbols), this
particularly oppressive 'piece of clothing' was once imposed by men on helpless
women of the Arabian desert and women had to wear hijab despite their
unwillingness. They had no choice. But after 9/11, Muslim mindset changed
collectively. The very women, who raised their voice against this disgustingly
primitive practice, are now flaunting their veils quite confidently, calling it
a sign of their 'empowerment' and identity. When the victims themselves start
justifying the obscure religious rituals and practices, it becomes ' Religious
justification of the Stockholm Syndrome'.
In this
syndrome, the victim/ captive starts sympathising with his/ her captor/
tormentor. So, in this specific context, hijab has become a subconscious
sartorial justification/manifestation of Stockholm Syndrome. Whether it's burqa
among Muslim women or Karva Chauth or numerous religious fasts observed by
Hindu women, it's woman who has to suffer in the name of religion.
Salman
Rushdie rightly said that burqa is a woman's ' private prison.' It's like a
moving tent and to quote B R Ambedkar, the most hideous and disconcerting sight
on earth is to see a 'Muslim woman on a summer afternoon concealed from top to
bottom in a crow-black dress.' Every religious practice comes into existence
out of a need and that need becomes a religious dogma.
Burqa
became a necessity in the early days of Islam when the desert was rife with
warring tribes and they used to take away women as booty. Their faces were
covered with burqa so that the invaders couldn't see them. Moreover, the desert
tornados in that part are so violent that even men used to cover their faces
and they still do when they venture out in the blistering desert heat. Burqa,
even if it's justified by 'educated' women, can never be accepted by those who believe
in gender equality. If the entire Europe is casting aspersions on burqa, it
shouldn't be viewed as 'Islamophobia'.
Why should
the Christian or Judaistic Europe be afraid of Islam? Burqa is being condemned
universally because it's a blatant sign of Islam's religious chauvinism,
perpetrated and perpetuated by men. Does burqa really change a woman from
within? Can a mere item of apparel change a woman completely? No offence meant
to the burqa-clad women or Islam in general, but I've seen burqa-clad prostitutes
on the streets of Tehran, Cairo, Tripoli, Ankara, among others. Have the Muslim
women ever thought that the feminine modesty doesn't require a symbolical
ostentation in the form of a veil? Have they ever thought that it's sheer
tokenism?
Nowadays, Muslim
women have started covering their hands and fingers as their clerics are
telling them that whole body must be covered and even the uncovered fingers are
sacrilegious!! You'll directly go to hell and will be there forever. And women
are following these stupid fatwas (edicts/ decrees). These Muslim women don't
understand that they, like their men in beard, are ghettoising themselves and
are indulging in 'self-pigeonholing' (Noam Chomsky's phrase) by wearing a burqa
and carrying a tent. It also shows the patronising attitude of these
burqa-loving Muslim women towards those who don't wear it.
Are the
women, who don't wear it, fallen ones? Why should one's religion and a skewed
sense of morality and modesty be made public? All religions, not just Islam, believe
in totemism. A Christian will flaunt his/ her cross, a Hindu will say Jai Shri Ram
or Jai Shri Krishna when he'll meet someone, a Sikh will be recognised from far
away because of his turban and so on. Burqa is just a totem. It's a loud totem
that gives a false sense Rf ' having one's own space.' Honestly speaking,
subconsciously every Muslim woman resents it but she can't help it. And those
who wear it on their own, want to prove that they've not lost their deep
religious grounding. This is sanctimony. You don't require emblems to show your
religious affinity. When a few years ago, a pornographic Malyali female writer
late Kamla Das embraced Islam at the age of 73 and rechristened herself as
Suraiyya, she began to wear hijab. Now tell me, who's that pervert who'll look
at a granny? No, she had to show her new religious identity. There's an Urdu
adage: Naya Musalmaan Zyada Pyaaz Khata Hai (A new Muslim devours
onions). All the burqa-clad Muslim women seem to be neo-Muslims, who're eager
to show their Islam on their sleeve, nay on their face!
----
An occasional columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit
Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam.
He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism