How TN manages to keep its 'head' cool even under the hijab heat

The recent commotion in Karnataka over Muslim girls wearing the hijab in schools has created ripples across the country. However, in Tamil Nadu, barring some Muslim outfits that staged token protests against the right wing’s efforts to implement a clampdown on the hijab, not too many debates have taken place. The reason behind the quietude is that in Tamil Nadu, wearing the hijab is more cultural than religious.

The February 5 order of the Karnataka government stated that wearing a headscarf is not an essential religious practice for Muslims that is protected by the Constitution. The order has been challenged on the grounds that a ban on headscarves violates the fundamental right to equality since other religious markers, such as the turban worn by Sikhs, are not explicitly prohibited.

While it is commonly believed that wearing the hijab is a Quran-prescribed rule for Muslim women, right wing forces claim that it is a form of curbing women’s freedom. This even as most Muslim women across the country say that they wear the hijab on their own volition and not because of any religious pressure.

It is when the hijab is seen through a religious lens that a conflict is triggered. However, in Tamil Nadu, the opinions on the hijab are more nuanced, and have a cultural basis.

Veiling as a mark of respect

“Contrary to the opinion of many, the hijab is not an identity of Muslims,” said Kalanthai Peer Mohammed, a cultural writer. “In Tamil, we call it mukkaadu (veil). In the olden days, women used to drape their heads using their saree pallav. They did this as a mark of respect to the outsiders. For an understanding, you can see the images of our former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Most of the time she used to cover her head with her saree. This is a normal practice we had in Tamil Nadu.”

According to him, it was after the rise of Wahhabism, a violent fundamentalist ideology, that Muslim women were compelled to wear the hijab. Wahhabists made women cover their heads with a separate piece of cloth. Over the centuries, the design of the hijab kept on changing, he added.

“We can’t blame today’s Muslim girls who willingly wear the hijab. Because, they were groomed from a young age by their parents saying that wearing one is mandatory. This is like a Hindu girl being groomed by her parents saying that wearing a bindi and adorning their hair with flowers is good for her. When that is questioned now, they feel intimidated — they feel their right is being wrested from them,” Mohammed said.

The way to obtain education

Well-known Tamil woman novelist Rajathi Salma, whose novel Irandaam Jaamangalin Kathai (‘Night Stories’) created waves in the Tamil literary world, said the hijab and purdah were popularised in Tamil soil by the youngsters who migrated to Gulf countries in search of work in the 1980s.

“When I was 13, after attaining my puberty, my parents didn’t allow me to go to school. That came as a shock for me, for I had many dreams about education. It was not just me — the plight was the same for all the girls in my village. I begged my parents to let me continue my education at least through distance education. Though they agreed to allow me, they feared the people (tongue-wagging) in our village. In those days, wearing the purdah was not in practice. We just wore a white coloured dhuppatti (duppatta) on our heads, and hence, only our face and half of the dress would be visible,” she said on her Facebook page.

“Today, most of the Muslim girls wear the purdah and go to schools and colleges. If such a practice had existed then, I could have continued with my education. Instead of seeing the girls as being suppressed because of the purdah, it should be noted that by wearing it they have got the freedom to get education and that is the big thing,” she said.

Socioeconomic reasons

S Chandini Bi, Associate Professor of History, Aligarh Muslim University, said there are also socioeconomic reasons to wearing the hijab. “Many of the Muslim girls are from economically weaker sections. They lack good clothes. While in schools there is a uniform, in colleges they have to wear normal dresses. In order to hide their economic conditions, they wear the purdah. That cannot be termed as religious slavery,” she said.

Popular Sri Lankan Tamil writer Sharmila Seyyid, who has documented the aftermath of the 2019 Easter bombings in three churches in the island nation, said wearing the hijab is more of a personal choice. Speaking at a webinar organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association, the cultural arm of the CPI(M), she said that from a religious point of view, the hijab is a part of women’s life, though it has never been a religious identity.

“Whether to wear it or not is a woman’s choice. Women like me who are not wearing the hijab are targeted by fundamentalists. Once my photo was morphed, and I was threatened with an acid attack. So, now we have been pushed to a condition that we are unable to go out without wearing the hijab. In Sri Lanka, after the Easter attacks, the government banned the purdah. Though the attacks were carried out by men, it was the women who were at the receiving end,” she said.

Prof Haja Gani, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, said that since the State has a history of Self-Respect Movement, none of the Muslim organisations here are compelling their women to wear the hijab.

“For instance, the State has two wonderful orators. One, Parveen Sulthana, a professor and a debator, and the other, Sulthana Parveen, a youngster who takes Islam’s principles to the masses through social media. While the former participates in public functions without wearing the hijab, the latter always appears wearing one. But both the orators are well received by the people of all religions because they listen only to the content and do not focus on the appearance,” he said.