Indian Muslim Women; A Tale of Two Images

"The Jarring Image"

During train journey, one encounters co-passengers of diverse communities and religion. The train compartment is veritable miniature India on wheels. One has time to observe and learn. During a recent journey from Ranchi to Delhi, I was witness to quite an intriguing and 'never-seen-before' behaviour of a group of co-passengers, which was distressing, and which elicited derision from other co-passengers.

At Ranchi Junction, among the passengers, boarding the compartment I was in, was a group comprising of three or four men and six women covered from head to toe in burqa. It was apparent that they were Muslim. As soon as they settled in their allotted seats, the men fixed long and heavy curtains around the berths in such a way that the females in burqa were completely hidden from the aisle side. The menfolk who occupied the side seats ensured that no one intruded that space. Moreover, everytime a female of the group wanted to use the washroom, the menfolk would ensure firmly that no other male co-passenger comes near her and she gets unhindered passage to and fro the washroom. They neither talked to anyone nor anyone talked to them.

The Beautiful Image

One of the most beautiful sights to behold in the villages and towns of India is "girls of all ages,classes,communities cheerfully rushing to schools". Ranchi is no exception. Till quite recently however, girls from Muslim community of Ranchi were rarely seen attending secular schools. The scene in the streets of Ranchi are now more colourful due to the presence of large number of pretty Muslim girls who, smartly attired in school uniform and headscarf, attend various 'secular' schools run by Christian and other institutions. And they are doing quite well. Invariably, at least one Muslim girl is placed among the ten top scorers of her school in the Board Examinations each year. In colleges as well, one often come across Muslim girls who are comfortable socialising. Muslim girls are seen behind the counters of department stores etc. They are good employees; do their jobs efficiently. They are good Muslims; do not forget to place their dupatta on their heads on hearing the call of the Muezzin for Namaaz.