Considering that the French love everything that’s indigenous and artisanal, the comments of the country’s president Nicholas Sarkozy about the burqa are a bit out of step. But also considering the gent is better known for his wife’s passion for Christian Dior frocks than his political prowess, let’s just say that France is an interesting place.

When the husband informed his mother his intention to marry me, her first words to me were, “Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to wear a burqa; I’ve never worn one myself.” I have to admit, I was relieved. Even elated. It wasn’t the tradition I was frightened of but I wasn’t ready to give up my favourite Gap shorts.

But the burqa needs some defending in this matter. As do all costumes of tradition that bind us to our own cultural identity. If any country were to ban the sari, Indians, even those who live in chic Marais, would be outraged. If the burqa, as Sarkozy enlightens us, is a symbol of the subjugation of women, so be it. All traditional clothing stems from mores and customs and denying one the right to wear them is like snatching away their piece of personal history. And how wont are we to admit that the sindoor a Hindu wife applies is also a sign of marking a man’s territory?

Why is the burqa, the black tent-like drape that covers

Muslim women from top to toe, sometimes revealing only their eyes, looked at so sinisterly?

... contd.