Cat-Walking In A Burqa: The Muzaffarnagar Fashion Show Controversy Explained

cat-walking in a burqa: the muzaffarnagar fashion show controversy explained

New Delhi: In Karnataka, Muslim bodies have been fighting for the right of women to wear the burqa, a traditional Islamic headscarf, to educational institutions. But in Uttar Pradesh, where a group of women decided to walk the ramp at a college fashion show wearing the burqa as an act of representation, some Muslim groups say they are offended.

Last Sunday, a group of women who study fashion, took part in an event called Fashion Splash at the Sri Ram College in Muzaffarnagar. The young women displayed both traditional and western attire. But a video from one part of the show went viral on social media, which showed women in burqa walking the ramp.

The video immediately triggered a strong reaction from a Muslim group. Jamiat Ulama’s district convenor Maulana Mukarram Qasmi alleged that the college had ‘targeted’ a religion and threatened to take legal action against authorities if they don’t apologise.

“We condemn the incident. Burqa is not an item of fashion, it is used for purdah. It is a mark of dignity and honour for Muslim women. A burqa is worn so that women can avoid the looks of men who have wrong intentions. It does not behove them (the college authorities) to target a particular religion and inflame someone’s religious feelings,” NDTV quoted the maulana as saying.

He then called for authorities of the college to issue a public apology and threatened to take legal action if they don’t. “They should not do this to followers of any religion again,” he was quoted saying.

The students, on the other hand, said all kinds of clothes were being represented at the event and one of them decided to design burqas so that they could showcase their creativity as well.

“Everyone was trying to think of new ways to express their creativity,” a student who participated in the show told NDTV. “All kinds of dresses were being showcased and a friend of ours came up with an idea to give representation to our style of dressing and project unity in diversity. We wanted to ensure Muslim girls are not left behind.”

On the controversy, the student said, “Questions are raised whether the hijab is taken off or worn. A maulana from the Darul Uloom has said that it is good that we took the opportunity we got.”

Bushra Khan, another student, said, “Nobody asked us to do this, we did it because we wanted to. There is nothing wrong with what we did. The motive was to showcase the designs.” Authorities from the college have said they stand by the students and would have failed in their duty if they would have stopped the fashion show.

“The maulana’s views are his own and I don’t want to comment on that. We are an educational institution and our objective is to give the best education possible,” Ravi Gautam, media coordinator for the college told NDTV. “The girls did not hurt religious sentiments in any way and, in fact, took their traditions forward. Everybody has the right to expression,” Gautam said.