The writer is a US-based reporter and blogger who covers human rights issues in South Asia and the larger Middle East. He tweets @JShahryar
The cartoon series, “Burka Avenger”, is the story of a teacher, Jiya, who wears a stylised burka costume when in her superhero form. Using her martial arts skills, the Burka Avenger fights evil, mainly to defend her students and the school she teaches at, from patriarchal goons who want to shut the school down.
Not only was I impressed by the message of education for boys and girls, I was also pleasantly surprised by the choice of her costume — a black burka that covers her face and incorporates a cape. So, not only does she kick ass, she kicks ass without conforming to the mainstream view that attributes physical strength to masculinity only.
But while she’s being lauded as just what kids in Pakistan need, her burka is bothering people; specifically some liberal men. They see this as a promotion of the hijab and find it detrimental to the message of empowerment the show supposedly carries. To these men, ‘saving’ women from patriarchy means that the burka or any other form of hijab should be banned altogether or discouraged at the very least.
Hijab or burka, or whatever you might want to call it, is simply a tool. In and of itself, it doesn’t do anything. It’s like any other article of clothing. Some women feel happy walking around in thigh high shorts, some like to wear jeans, some prefer miniskirts and others want to wrap themselves up in dark and baggy garments that cover their entire bodies, including their faces — in essence, burkas and the sort.
Patriarchy is wrong not because it forces women to wear only the dark baggy garments and rejects everything else. It’s wrong because it interferes with a woman’s choice at all. It’s wrong because whether a woman wants to wear a burka or a bikini, she has the right to decide for herself as a human being — equal in standing with men.
So, when men give themselves the right to tell Jiya that she shouldn’t wear the burka to become a superhero, they’re assigning themselves the same patriarchal privileges that they are supposedly working against. What she should or shouldn’t wear and how it affects other women’s decision to wear or not wear the burka is for her and for other women to decide for themselves. Our job, as men, is to respect those choices personally and work to get everyone to do the same.
Dismantling patriarchy isn’t going to be achieved by opposing the tools of patriarchy alone, but rather by figuring out what motivates those tools and then not just taking them away from the abusers, but thoroughly cleansing ourselves off it as well. This means relinquishing our privileges and giving up the right to tell women what they should or should not wear or do with their bodies or souls. Afterwards, when women have made those choices, we should respect them and their choices. Discarding patriarchy must begin with us discarding our unjust privilege of forcing our opinion on women.
We can’t defeat the villain — patriarchy — if we still have residual villainy left in us.
And if we fail at defeating our inner villains, then maybe the Burka Avenger should tackle us as well.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 4th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (14)
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after the Burkha Avenger, here comes the Burkha Defender! Surveys carried out in India show that quite a few women feel that a husband is occasionally justified in hitting his wife (apparently true in your country too) - would you defend this as choice too? The reason a lot of women wear this garment is a lifetime of conditioning - I see very young girls (4-5 years) wearing a hijab - I guess they are exercising free choice and it is not something which their mothers/fathers are forcing on them. How will these girls treat their own kids when they grow up?
Choice can only be exercised by those who are free. I guess women in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan are well and truly free and they have all jointly decided to wear this garment as a matter of choice. Their is absolutely no compulsion.
For all the men who support this on grounds of choice, I'll strongly recommend putting on this all encompassing tent on a hot summer or a muggy monsoon day and going out in the open. Looking at the world through a dark grille and sniffing your own sweaty, body odour with complete lack of ventilation, you'll truly appreciate how free women are to choose.
@N.M.khan..." Bound feet was indeed a cruel and oppressive ( process ) practice " . Thank you for the concession , an abominable practice was made attractive by propaganda and brain washing the helpless children in the way today Burka is being made liberating and indicator of self worth . I don't think a woman ( bound feet )waddling like a duck would look beautiful to any sensible person . That is why the practice was abandoned . I am old enough to have seen these Chinese women in my childhood and never appreciated the walk of these women at that age . Let us not glorify a bad and oppressive practice .
Burka is not an ordinary dress. Its purpose is to hide identity, so that perpetrator does not recognize the lady and in confusion let her do business outside her home. Its useful when women of all classes wear with same style and same cloth making it difficult for perpetrators to select vulnerable women. Burka loses its effectiveness when elite and upper middle class women of the society reject it or wear stylish expensive Burkas and drive around in expensive cars making clear distinction from ordinary, poor and underprivileged Burka ladies . In this situation when Burka becomes a symbol of poverty, helplessness and ignorance, it must not be accepted as a dress code.
Keeping aside the theme of Burka Avanger, I must comment on blogger. Appreciating him,one clearly sees what he has written clearly reflection of a human right activist thought but there is something to clearify; Hijab is compulsion for a Muslim lady.(See: Surah Nour ayat 31, and Surah Ehzab ayat 59).Practicing Hijab is just like pray, fasting,pay other religious obligations.No one spare it on his/her approval,as it is recommended by Allah ,the creator. Hence, the argument on wearing or not the burqa is baseless. Burqa culture in Muslim society depicts that women are obeying the rules set by Allah.If the situation is reverse there must be an alarm for the society abiding the laws of Islam.
@Fateh Mohammed: Just to clarify that foot binding in China was considered attractive and was done amongst wealthy families but, over time, spread to all classes, including the lower income groups who would bind the feet of the eldest daughter in the hope she would attract a wealthier suitor. Bound feet was indeed a cruel and oppressive process but it was considered a status symbol, and not done to stop girls from running away.
What she should or shouldn’t wear and how it affects other women’s decision to wear or not wear the burka is for her and for other women to choose for themselves. Our job, as men, is to respect those choices personally and work to get everyone to do the same.
This would have made sense in the vacuum of Outer Space and closer home, in those parts of planet Earth where citizens, including the female of the species, are by and large left to their own devices.
In localities where Constitutional provisions decide who is a ‘Full Citizen’ and who is not. And even amongst ‘Full Citizens’ which ones are ‘Non Profligate’ and ‘Peaceable’ and which ones can be elected for what, the sudden profusion of ‘Pro Choicers’ sends up red flags by the dozens.
Let us be under no illusions, It is not about Empowerment, It is not about Choice, It is about promotion of Virtue minus the Mutaween.
Here let me share a secret with you. My child was a fan of Popeye the Sailorman. And of course he swore by the virtues of Spinach, I was complicit in promotion of this belief. The same applies to the Burka Avenger.
And isn't there a narrative that equates the Burka with virtue? How do you expect impressionable youngsters to escape this, unless of course, in each episode they have a disclaimer saying that the lady is equally empowered without the Burka and can fight evil equally well even in shorts and a Tee Shirt.
Are the makers of the Comics up to it?
And is there a proposal to lock the Mutaween away to ensure Free Choice in matters sartorial?
Now that is what I call "dogmatism of choice". Burka is a question of chioce for as many as which wear skirt. And how many thousand exactly are these skirt wearing Pak women? Come on, open your eyes and see the fact: burka is symbol of lack of choice for tens of million of women of this country. And there is no such thing as liberal patriarchy. How many thousand liberals exactly breathe in this country? And how many hundreds of them have organised themselves in a "patriarchy"? Do not gloss over the real, mean patriarchies and their hundreds of lashkars and reliogious militias.
There is as much choice in burka as much granted by those presumably fought against by Jiya.
Another pseudointellectual, apologist attempt to defend the worst manifestation of patriarchy in ours and other Islamic societies: burqa. Considered as a symbol of 'morality' and 'modesty', it is imposed in conservative Muslim societies by none other than men. A five-year old girl child doesn't 'chooses' to wear it on her own. This myth of choice is just another patriarchal tactic to defend the exploitative, oppressive garment in order to maintain the hegemonic status of men in the society and to confine the women's status as objects. And that's why when a woman goes out without a dubatta, she is considered as 'immodest' and 'immoral' by men.
As far as men 'respecting her choices' is concerned', would you expect men - who stand for women's liberation - to remain silent and 'respect her choice' if she 'chooses' to face domestic violence by her husband without any resistance? No matter how liberating you make it sound, oppressive culture, resulting in objectification of women' will remain oppressive.
Burka avenger is a brilliant idea. . It encourages those wearing Burka not to be subdued and act like they are inferiros, rather use their 'hidden' face to their advantage!
All of Pakistan should wear the Hijab and embrace Sharia.
Surely Allah's will must reign supreme.
The concept of superwoman in Burka is inconsistent with reality and her role in real life .. It is indirect promotion of Burka ie showing that a Burka is no handicap . A woman in Burka can not , being handicapped by Burka , run to save herself from her pursuers not to talk of jumping from branch to branch and then hitting the sky . It may be entertaining in a churlish sense . Malalas can be imagined but not Gias . It is either an illogical defense or a satire on the attire . Take your pick . I am reminded of Chinese women who were in their childhood / infancy made to wear iron or wooden shoes so that their foot growth was checked to restrain them from running away from their husbands or parents in later life . This was quite common in China before communist revolution . These attires are control mechanisms in the " interest " of women ..
To do away with the Burka is to encourage the mixing of sexes. That is to encourage promiscuous society. Like in the West. If their mixing of genders in west has increased the value of chastity then by all means don't wear the Burka.
While I am often labelled as a liberal fascist for my views, I am in complete agreement with the author on this. Burka Avenger is a terrific and innovative show and its message should be focused on instead of the burka.
Thank you! Nicely stated and entirely true! I don't see any reason why the burka can't be as empowering for a woman as a pair of jeans and frankly, men just need to back off and let this cartoon lady decide for herself.