The curtain of coercion

The injunction that Kashmiri women must veil themselves maligns both Islam and women

Syeda Saiyidain Hameed

The date for the expiry of the deadline imposed on the women of Kashmir for wearing a veil has been extended for a few more days. In Srinagar, some time ago, there was an acid attack on two college girls and two teachers. The responsibility for the act was claimed by an unknown group: the Lashkar-e-Jabbar. An ultimatum was issued whereby all the women who did not observe purdah by the deadline set would be mutilated by similar acid attacks.

These reports were widely circulated by the media. Photographs of veiled girls, of shops selling burqas, of police patrols in front of colleges have been figuring on our front pages. Once again, Islam is being projected in the media as the most gender-unfriendly religion. Yet every political and religious group in Kashmir and elsewhere, condemned this as the worst outrage against women. The Jamaat-i-Islami, the Hizbul Mujahideen, the Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba, Hurriyat leaders like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, everyone proclaimed that this violence was repugnant to the tenets of Islam. But the deadline stuck in public consciousness as an ugly possibility. No one knew what the Lashkar-e-Jabbar stood for, no arrests were made, and the possibility was not ruled out that this was a ploy to malign Islam by using women as soft targets.

In 1947, the women of my family gave up observing the purdah; and even after the situation normalised no one ever thought of reverting to it. Fifty four years later some maniacs issue a fatwa in the name of Islam: observe purdah or be disfigured for life. Outraged by these depraved actions, I went to the Koran to identify references in the various Surahs to purdah, women and coercion. I wanted to see the truth by my own light. In the Surah Al Nur (The Light), the matter of clothing for men and women is explained. The very same words are used for both in the matter of appropriate modesty: say to the believing women (and men)/ That they should lower their gaze and guard/Their modesty: that will make/For greater purity for them The Arabic words wa ya hafazuu furuujahum literally mean protection (hifaazat) of their private parts. So far there is no difference between the command for men and women. But then there is a difference; women are asked to restrict the use of ornaments when they appear before strangers and to draw the veil over their bosoms (Source: Abdullah Yusuf Ali and M.M.Pickthall).

The context of this injunction seems to be the customary dressing practices of women during the days of the Arab Jahiliyat, since it also refers to the practice of ‘striking the feet to draw attention to hidden ornaments’. This is the sum total of the ‘dress code’ for women and men in Islam. But this should be read with another important injunction in the Koran, which needs to be placed before all those who presume to impose their dress (or any other) diktat on the community. In Ayat 256 of Surah Al Baqr, the Koran clearly states that there is no compulsion in matters of religion: La ikraa fid Din. These four small words contain the essence of Islam and convey a wealth of meaning for the Muslims.

In his Tarjumanul Quran, Maulana Azad translates them to mean that in matters of Din, force is never needed because Din is born of deep faith and faith can never be inculcated with force. In his commentary on the same text he says: in matters of Din and belief no compulsion is permissible. The path of belief springs from the heart. And belief can be generated only from dawat (invitation) and mauizat (exhortation), not by coercion.

Hence the question: where in Islam is there need of jabr (coercion)? The very name Lashkar-e-Jabbar is anathema to the spirit of Islam. Therefore their deplorable threat should be condemned by Muslim civil society with one voice, as an affront to Islam and as yet another ploy to torture women. The state should bring the real culprits to book. Women of Kashmir should take comfort in the support of not only their Muslim sisters but women of all religions in this country and the world.

(The writer is convener of Muslim Women’s Forum)