AN EXERCISE IN WORLDMAKING 2009 - ISS

164 UMME BUSRA FATEHA SULTANA
out of segregated living spaces, and was thus introduced as a symbol of
independent privileged upper class women who were no longer dependent
on male relatives to go out.
However, the symbol of burqa in present days is entirely opposite
from what it used to be in the past. Discourses have shaped burqa to
symbolize “the restricted life of Muslim women”. A wide range of feminists
are worried about the increasing rate of burqa use among “educated”
and “modern” women, as is reflected in Rozario (2006: 368) who
calls it a backlash of the Islamist movement towards women’s new visible
roles, and a “new challenge of patriarchy” which violates women’s
rights in Bangladesh. Kirleis (1991: 31) opines that “the disguise of the
female body by burqa constructs women as bodies, sex objects and at
the same time signifies that this body is owned by somebody, who only
has access to it.” Thus in most feminist literatures on burqa users in
Bangladesh, burqa is characterized as epitomizing Muslim women’s oppression
and low status (Feldman and McCarthy, 1983: 957) and the key
aim of these feminists has been to “save” these women from such oppression.
The radical feminist writer Taslima Nasrin has been celebrated
in the West for her brave voice against the “oppressive Islamic structure”
of Bangladesh (Azim, 2005: 195). She views burqa as a symbol of
disrespect and women’s oppression, which ensures that women are the
object and property of men (Nasrin: 2007). She boldly claims:
Covering a woman’s head means covering her brain and ensuring that it
doesn’t [does not] work. If women’s brains worked properly, they’d [they
would] have long ago thrown off these veils and burqas imposed on them
by a religious and patriarchal regime.
Surprisingly, other feminist writers, women’s groups and “progressive”
thinkers do not question this type of labeling or placing all burqa
users under the same category. Likewise, many development organizations
uphold the view that burqa represents the “patriarchal Muslim culture”
as well as its conservatism and goes against enlightenment and
progress. Therefore, the burqa users are seen as conservative and are
highly criticized by these organizations. They are rarely able to secure
jobs in those organizations and are not allowed to participate in women’s
organizations working on feminist issues. In addition, universities show
stigmatized views towards them, and many challenging private jobs such
as those offered by multinational companies and phone call centers do
not recruit women wearing burqa (Rozario, 2006: 372).