No dress can be called a national dress, as most of them evolved over a period of time, indeed dress is a cultural expression of a given society. Dress is cultural, and each culture tends to be different every 250 miles apart.   Pakistan is an exception in this regard, where a dress was labeled as a national dress and almost every Pakistani has at least one pair of such clothing.

When it comes to clothing, particularly Hijab, we need to be pro-choice, that is  a woman should have the freedom to wear what is comfortable to her, as a majority of women tend to be modest no matter what faith or culture they come from. No Taliban brute should force her to cover up completely or French brute to force them to wear fewer clothes. Neither of them respects woman's choices.

The full covering has been around for centuries in different formats, but only a small percent of Muslims women wore that,  the French statistics were quoted at 3% of Muslim women wearing burqa, and I believe it was less than 10% in early 20th century in the subcontinent.

I hope some one can take the time to put the dates on the critical changes, that is, when did a mass movement to wear Hijab (the fashionable head covering) began. Tentatively, I place the date to be 2000 AD, so we can discuss and arrive at a more precise date.  

I recall my late wife who had never worn any sort of Hijab, made an announcement one morning at the breakfast table,  that she will start wearing the Hijab/Burqa,  that threw me completely off for a moment, indeed, it startled me. I thank God for giving me the wisdom not to blurt out, "not with me" instead, I responded, "its your choice".  But deep down, I did not want her to wear Hijab, but did not want to sound like a brutish man either.  Of course she did not wear it and I have no idea if she was testing my "open mindedness" and pluralistic attitudes, regardless, I felt good for keeping my attitude of live and let live. 

It is from around 2000, perhaps after 9/11, Hijab wearing began as an assertion of identity, we started seeing a mass movement when girls started wearing Hijab. What was ironic was their mothers and family members did not, the girls chose it on their own and then the mothers started copying them, mind you many of these women had never worn  Hijab before. I had never seen Muslim Female Doctor wearing the Hijab before but the movement started then. The same trends are observed around the world. ( not sure about Saudi Arabia and Iran, not because they are Islamic but because of their culture of wearing Burqa may be long).

Hijab is a fashion statement along with an expression of a new identity. It is certainly not Islamic, the Islamic requirement is nothing different than calling men to be modest and not stare at women,  and women to be modest and cover their bosoms, which all religions, cultures and societies call for. No urban society in general is comfortable wearing clothes that sexually incites others.


Mike Ghouse
www.MuslimSpeaker.com
www.Interfaithspeaker.com 

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http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/31903/our-national-dress-is-the-shalwar-kameez-not-the-niqab/

Our national dress is the shalwar kameez, not the niqab

By Noman Ansari Published: January 27, 2016

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Recently, I came across a meme that compared the full niqab with local cultural dresses, and it reminded me of our unfortunate transformation.

Through fear of the sword or through promise of eternal torment they spread their regressive ways. Over time we found another reason to abhor each other, to feel divided, to openly judge our own. The foreign culture we adopted didn�t play well with our own, for it insisted in its dark perfection while clashing with our own light.

Whenever I travel from Pakistan I feel a melancholy that slowly hums in my heart overseas until it reaches full tempo when I return home. Other countries hold dear their customs and honour the old roots from which they rose with tolerance and diversity. Pakistan, on the other hand, has turned into a claustrophobic cultural mute.

If culture is food for the soul then we are going mad with starvation. Tragically, we are unable to realise this in our fractured state of mind. For so long we have boiled our meat without salt, pepper, or spice, that we now believe this is the way it is meant to be.

Imagine a Pakistan where you regularly socialise with Christian, Hindu, and Sikh Pakistanis, absorbing the aspects of their traditions that make them unique from you.

Imagine a Pakistan where you are able to attend an event of a culture different from your own, but completely Pakistani nonetheless.

Imagine a Pakistan where heritage sites are preserved with reverence rather than treated as offensive by the intolerant. Imagine a Pakistan where our language, clothing, and music remain unmolested by the Wahhabi sense of conformity.

As a child when I visited Karachi I recall the streets and taxis were full of melody; the latest Pakistani pop songs would blare at every corner. Today, the only tones that feature on the same roads are the sounds of vehicles and angry pedestrians. Full niqabs have replaced beautiful Pakistani dresses, long beards have taken the place of fashionably diverse faces, naats (praise of the Prophet (pbuh)) have taken over from musical numbers. Tellingly, a musician who once enriched our lives has transformed into a hard-line preacher in perhaps the biggest indication of our metamorphosis.

Recently, I came across a meme that compared the full niqab with local cultural dresses, and it reminded me of our unfortunate transformation. Inspired by this meme, I�d like to take you through a pictorial guide across the world.

1. This is a traditional Pakistani dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Reuters

2. These are Bangladeshi dresses:

Photo: Pinterest

Not these:

Photo: Pinterest

3. These are Afghani dresses:

Photo: Pinterest

Not these:

Photo: Pinterest

5. This is an Indian dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Pinterest

6. These are Iranian dresses:

Photo: Pinterest

Not these:

Photo: Pinterest

7. This is a Malaysian dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Reuters

8. This is an Indonesian dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Pinterest

9. This is an Iraqi dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Pinterest

10. This is a Syrian dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Pinterest

11. This is a Moroccan dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

Photo: Reuters

12. This is a Tunisian dress:

Photo: Pinterest

Not this:

 
Photo: AP

On one end we have colourful examples of cultural diversity, and on the other we have a misogynistic garb that seeks to paint women of the entire planet in a single colour. What does the world need more?

Noman Ansari

A freelance writer and regular contributor to The Express Tribune magazine and newspaper, Noman tweets as @Pugnate (twitter.com/Pugnate)