UNVEIL

A couple of weeks back in Iran, a girl named Mahsa Amini, who was just 22, was killed by the regime deployed Morality Police for refusing to wear a hijab on her visit to Tehran. Her death has sparked massive protests in Iran where the revolutionaries have now started demanding change in laws over mandatory Hijabs, women equality and democracy. A universal ban on veils be it of any kind, Hijabs or ghoonghats is something which I have advocated all my life. Hijabs and ghoonghats are not just veils. They symbolises much more than that. They include mutilation of young girls in a hardcore conservative society, the man's violent dominance over a woman and a total lack of self determination of females. As I proceed to present my arguments in favour of the ban on veils, it is equally important to understand why they were introduced in the first place and is their existence still relevant? Historically ghoonghats in India were brought into practice to protect the women from invaders and their violent and unethical forces. To prevent the women of the house from getting raped, looterd, or kidnapped. When it comes to veils like Hijabs and Burqas, many Islamic scholars believe Quran Instruct muslim men and women to dress modestly. Veils are worn by muslim women to maintain that modesty and privacy from unrelated males.

Women protestors in Iran are registering their protest by chopping off their hairs

There are multiple reasons why I and people like me believe that the long standing practice of putting the women behind the veils should end. Of all the reasons projected, the most apex is that of 'Security'. It is less moral but more of technical and rational in its nature. With the Easter blasts in Sri Lanka in 2021, there has been a rising concern by the multiple establishments of how the use of veils in public places should be abolished as it gives criminals and terrorists an upper hand while committing the crime. It becomes much more easier for them to breach the existing security protocols and infrastructure in order to give their devious plans a life.

Aristotle, a popular greek philosopher stated in his work, 'Man by nature is a social animal'.  Whether it is man, woman or a person from whichever community existing on this globe has a right to practice his life in his own personal domain without falling into restrictions and boundations created by some other entity. Ban on veils will give this liberty to women to exercise their own choices and live life on their own terms and conditions without coming under anybody's dictation or influence.

Constitution, when it comes to democratic countries like India gives a person right to practice his religion in his own suitable way. Having said that it in no way awards a person or any community to destabilise the existing norms. Few months back protests erupted in the state of Karnataka, India where girl children were restricted from wearing Hijabs and Burqas under the school premises.People need to understand that an institution like school works on the concept of uniformity. It is the same uniformity which inculcates discipline in the life of the pupil. Diversity should exists but on the basis of talent, skills and knowledge and not on that of religion and veils. Ban on veils will further strengthen this uniformity where more focus would be delivered in doing what is meant to be done rather than indulging in baseless controversies.

Kinds of veils worn by Muslim women

Gone are the days when some hours of work and three meals a day were sufficient for a leisurely survival of a human being. We live in a world which is progressive and modernising at much faster pace. From inventing craziest of the gadgets to reaching mars, we have done it all. Today we have access to wildest of the ideas and rarest of the information in just one click. If a person uses all the resources to fullest of his capacity he can reach at unprecedented heights in his life. Amid all this keeping a woman behind a veil and restricting her from exploring all these opportunities the world has for her is the most ridiculous thing society can do. Rather than investing time, energy and resources behind such rationless, outdated, conservative norms, the society should rather think of how they can lift up this particular section in order to give the mankind the much needed boost.

As individuals we have got our ultimate identities in the society we live in. We are known and identified by our existence. Veils like Burkha, Hijab and Ghoonghats somewhere robs the women of her true identity. Being stuffed in a black tent like attire gives them no value and also takes away the basic purpose of life. Bans on veils should be initiated so that the ultimate freedom to exist can be grated to many of those unprivileged women, not just hypothetically but in reality too. They should be given freedom to exercise their choice, for real. Once they are able to establish identity of their self they would be spotted making unprecedented progress from the most unexpected platforms.

Ghoonghat

One argument which floats in support of the veils is that it protects the women from the heinous crimes that are being committed in the modern day world. But if one observes the statistics he would realise that women behind the veil is equally prone to crime and mishappening than a women in front of it. Veil of any kind in no way is a solution to the issue of security of a women. Rather than going through the old conservative route, it is the people who collectively need to start devising ways and strategies where women can be provided with a more developed and secured atmosphere.

It is often wrongly stated that Quran. the holy scripture of Muslims asks its women to stay behind the veils, but the truth is there is no mention of any kind of veil in the holy texts of Quran. As DW Editor in Chief Alexander Kudaschief states "Burqa is not a sign of religious life or even religiosity, otherwise muslim women everywhere would have worn it mandatorily. Burqa is a symbol of fundamentalist Islam, a wahhabi interpretation of 'IS' of Taliban, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. The Burqa is not a sign of popular peity or a religious daily life." This should well settle the debate for those who thinks veils are made mandatory by the religions of various kind.

Of all the moral, philosophical and rational reasons mentioned above, Biologically too veils prove disastrous for women. With no access to outside atmosphere and sunlight women get prone to deadliest of the diseases which can harm them in worst of he ways in the times to come.

Towards a hopeful future

Women wearing veils out of their choice is a myth. The truth is in the modern times the word 'choice' has just become a hollow promise for a women surviving in an unprogressive, conservative society. The day she steps out to exercise her choice, the same society will either abandon her or will throw her behind the gallows of hell. With the reasons against the existence of veils making enough sense, now is the time to ban them in order to promote social cohesion, cultural assimilation and integration of the society.