There are no heights to all the things humans have misused and criticized. The human race seems to have made a puppet out of everything available to them- from cell phones to voting rights. Needless to say, we seem to know about it all. But somewhere in the wake of our ignorance the misuse of the religious veil seems to have gone unnoticed by all. Yes, I am talking about the misuse of burqa. Bet you must be wondering by now as to what is all this fuss about. Well, let me tell you…
Upto a time in life, I always acknowledged a woman swathed in a burqa to be religious, respectable and honorable. But I just have to clench my teeth and ask “what’s with the men and burqa anyway?” we often see men shielding themselves from a dangerous situation (namely- girlfriends father!). It happens in almost every other movie that the actor actually resorts to wearing a burqa to walk into his girlfriend’s house or even worse- to simply occupy the ladies seat in a bus. It seems funny when we see it on the screen but honestly, it’s being overdone now. I bet we can find humor in more sensible movies…or the other way round. Moreover, like all the actions and gestures adopted and tried by the maniac audience, this hypocritical use of the burqa also seems to be conveniently espoused by many wannabe men out there. There have been a number of instances where men hide their identity when they have to shoplift or mingle among girls and rob them. It recently happened in Ontario, where two men clad in burqas robbed a jewellery shop. It even comes in handy for teenage couples to run away from home or simply for them to date and not be seen. Ironically, sometimes celebrities take off to be in public by wearing a burqa- yes I am talking about Michael Jackson who was seen shopping in a burqa to avoid media-hounds.
Thanks to senseless men like them that now, we have to stay on the look-out and wonder if those eyes peering out of the burqa are actually that of a woman or not, whether those hands are that of a lady or a chain-snatcher. Not that I am suspecting everyone to be bad, not that I am accusing the religion to have lost its identity. It’s just that I want to raise a middle finger at all those vexing men because of whom many cities and countries are now considering a burqa ban. France and Netherlands however are the first to be talking about even banning the hijab. Coming back to our own “multicultural” nation, recently, the jewelers in Pune set out to ban costumers from entering the shop with burqas fearing thieves. The decision was ruled out for sure but the suspicion doesn’t end there. More than the law or the rule, it is the dignity and ethnicity of many innocent Muslim that is questioned. And at the end, for heavens sake! A ban on burqas is not going to stop any theft or couples running away from home. It is just that people these days care a damn about culture and society. We fail to see the importance of someone else’s belief and fail to comprehend customs. We ask for more trouble by insulting fellow humans. We live in the world like we are in a nuptial relationship- it would only work if we give each other some space and just that.