On a busy weekday morning sitting in the auto-rickshaw on my way to office.
I wasn't doing anything in particular, neither reading ET nor any novel, just gazing out dreamily, lost in my world as the rick was zipping away on the last flyover. A rickshaw overtakes, and while over-taking the driver as well as the passenger look back throw a curious look inside my rick and go ahead. Looks are thrown on the busy fast flyovers only when there's a fight or accident or some celebrity or something unusual... Then what was that something that made them look into this rickshaw. I wondered for a while, looked around, everything seemed monotonously normal. And then I forgot all about it.
Some other day, I was again in some rick-shaw, another weekday, going to office in all that traffic, had already left early. So was a bit more alert looking out and hoping that the rick-shaw driver finds the right spaces and drives through as soon as possible. The usual slow moving traffic near signals(right on the day when you are already late... is it a coincidence always?, neways!...) gave enough time to curse those who don't drive well enough or those who are busy chatting on their cell phones. Suddenly the driver's attention is diverted and he looks in the neighbouring rick, I too looked(obviously coz I didn't want him to miss the next lil tini-mini space so that we can inch further ahead!). And what do we see...
A pair of neatly manicured feet adorned with some really chic footwear, the toe nails flawlessly painted in some shade of purple. With an anklet on the left leg, both the legs in a lady-like posture... But that rickshaw moves by some inches ahead!
As if opportunity was waiting our rick-shaw moves ahead in a few seconds. A fine lady clothed in purple salwar kameez, with accessories complimenting her formal look and a 9-5 daily makeup to complete it all. So that's it!
When they see the feet of a lady that they get a glimpse of, there's the curiosity to see her too. If they are the feet of some old or middle aged lady, of course they wouldn't have bothered. But if the feet look even 'ok' , the possibility of seeing a pretty face increases. And that's how they turn back their heads just for a second or two to have a look. Passenger, if of the same type will also try to get his share of the view!
Some may think its a compliment or some may think so what? But when I think back about that incident, I don't think its a compliment, rather seeing a lady's feet and trying to see if the face or the lady on the whole is worth looking at is disgusting. As if people are on a display! Compliments are when people say it on your face. Not when they want to have a look at whoever is sitting in another rick is worth a look or no! And if the girl in the other rickshaw would have been pretty, these folks have a good look and move on. Shesssh... that's so eeyyuu!! How sick can people get?
Consider some really nice and pretty girl(not the devil plain jane me), its so odd and irritating that people will 'look' at you as they go by!
Personally, I would not take it as a compliment. What right do strangers have to look at me? What sense it makes in feeling happy or taking this sort of awkwardly thought of compliment? In fact why should anyone see some pretty face toe-to-head(in this case) or even judge the woman after seeing her feet let's see how she looks on the whole?!! I wonder if the veil tradition was meant for a real life situation, not only for orthodox texts. I wonder if the hijab that the Muslims wear is a plain cover from the prying male eyes, instead of the much debated hot topic of freedom and women's liberation and all those feminist ideologies.
"O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (jalabib) close round them (when they go abroad)..." (33:59)
Ibn Rushd in Bidaya al-Mujtahid (1:83) said that this verse has been adduced as proof that no part of a woman's body should be evident to those who are not among the prohibited degrees of relationship (mahram) or her husband. Al-Qurtubi in his commentary on the verse said that the jilbab is the cloak that conceals all of the body including the head.
Traditionally, in Christianity, women were enjoined to cover their heads in church, just as it was (and still is) customary for men to remove their hat as a sign of respect.
In many traditional Eastern Orthodox Churches, and in some very conservative Protestant churches as well, the custom continues of women covering their heads in church (or even when praying privately at home).
Its not a sign of oppression, as some may claim, one should of course have the option and the freewill to not use the veil in religions where it's an integral part of their religion. In most of the Indian traditions we find the women cover their head or cover their face, gross orthodoxy I would say or think, but let me think again... Were some traditions made keeping in mind the never changing human behaviour? But who the hell will want to follow it all the time?
Given the freewill option, a head scarf would keep one's privacy, one's looks and above all a lady away from the unwarranted, unwanted and uninvited stranger's eyes!
N people, no silly comments on this, just imagine you as a girl/lady or in case you are a guy wondering what's wrong with this tomboy imagine your sister being 'checked out' or judged as 'not worth a watch' after having a look by some arbitrary passerby.
Let me take a guess! That's why the princesses were kept away from the public eye, carried in high palanquins whenever they went out casually! Bingo!!
;) Do you think you are one or your sister is like one?!
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