On Imran Khan’s bride's choice of dress for Nikah and Islamophobia.

-Advocate Shaheen Naqshbandi

Recently, Pakistani politician Imran Khan married Bushra Maneka. During the Nikah, the bride
wore full veil and some people made jokes about it, called it a “tent”. There is nothing wrong
in making fun or jokes about this but what people fail to realize is that they may be
inadvertently falling for Islamophobia.
Some well-meaning people who cannot be accused of Islamophobia also wrote posts and
shared pictures of Imran Khan's new wife Bushra Maneka’s veil using terms which all Muslims
that I know of find offensive, not because it refers to the lady in question but because these
terms are typically employed by Islamophobes to ridicule, demean, and demonize Muslims
and their religious and cultural symbols. Such words that are used to ridicule a person's
religious or cultural attire are offensive not only to observant religious people but even to
other followers of that religion. The point that I want to put across is that if the women in
question don't find anything wrong in observing Pardah and an entire community associates
it with the socio-cultural interpretations of religion, then we have no right to take away their
agency. A recent incident of a video come to mind where an Australian politician Pauline
Hanson tried to ridicule Islamic Burka by wearing it in Australian parliament and then taking
it off while she was seeking to ban Burka in Australia. She was slammed by Attorney-General
George Brandis who sternly reminded her that her “stunt” and ridicule of Burkha is insulting
to Australian Muslims. This video became viral and George Brandis was praised by people of
all faiths for his pluralistic stand.
If somebody is forced or a religious interpretation is thrust on anybody or if somebody outside
that religion is harmed by it, only then is it right to seek ways to work against any religious
edict or custom, whether by words or through actions. This is more pertinent in today's
atmosphere where Islamophobia is rampant and every Tom, Dick and Harry wants to
“reform” Islam and "liberate" Muslim women. To these liberators: let Muslim women liberate
themselves if there is a need.
We often see in anti-Muslim narratives such accusations being levelled like, Muslims are
regressive, Islam oppresses women, Islamic conception of gender relations is regressive,
women who observe Pardah are oppressed. It is these small things that build up xenophobic
narratives. Of course, you are most free to ridicule religions if you don't believe in religion at
all, but I believe at times when a religious community is vulnerable & persecuted, one should
be extra cautious in choosing the platform and audience of religion bashing.
Regarding Pardah, like the one observed by Mrs. Bushra Maneka at her Nikah ceremony, it
should be noted that a majority of Muslim women during the ceremony of Nikah wear various
such types of veils. One thing that has to be understood is that occasions like Nikah are
solemnised with religious customs and rituals and it is commonplace to see in a Muslim
marriage a copy of Quran worn like a necklace, or Quran kept on head or placed in hand of
the bride. This symbolism of Quran or veil are a few examples of how religious symbolism is
visible in Muslim marriages. As a matter of fact, marriages of most religious communities are
solemnised with religious symbolism. People of my family and most of the people I know had
a veil on Nikah. It is interesting how women of other communities in India who wear
Ghoonghat are never called regressive for their attire or derogatorily referred to as “tents”.
The limited point is that in present atmosphere one should avoid using words that are used
to demean and dehumanize Muslims. In India itself, and in fact the world over, Hijabi women
are regularly targeted. Many times, violently. These jokes don't help as they further
perpetuate a hatred of Muslims.
It is often the common Muslims who are the victims of Islamophobia. Calling 'tent' to Hijab-
clad wife of Imran Khan won't affect her, but such words can be used as taunts for common
Muslim women on the street. Sadly, this doesn't end at jokes and taunts. As we have seen in
recent news, here are a few examples of what women with Hijab were subject to:
Someone tries to push a Hijabi women in front on a train.
A Hijabi woman is refused service at a restaurant.
Hijabi women is denied job due to her Hijab.
Some Islamophobe gets violent and tries to forcibly remove Hijab of a Muslim girl.
The question is whether it is right to build narratives that seek to, directly or inadvertently,
further perpetuate this anti-Hijab and anti-Muslim xenophobia.