Freedom, fashion and an assault on the burka
by Humera Khan
The Guardian
21 Nov 2001

Cherie Blair's campaign against the controversial female garment ignores serious issues on women's rights, writes Humera Khan

The war campaign in Afghanistan is progressing from the sublime to the ridiculous. First there were the not-so-smart bombs that destroyed hospitals, UN storage facilities and mosques. Then came the cluster bombs that killed many innocent civilians and left large swaths of the country unsafe for children to play in.

If the leaflets dropped by American planes as part of the propaganda war aimed at "winning hearts and minds" were offensive and in bad taste, the food packages - including peanut butter - certainly reflected the arrogance and insensitivity of the US-led coalition.

But of all the nasty things to drop from the skies upon the Afghan people in recent weeks, nothing is more insidious and more frightening than the anti-burka propaganda message. This is due in no small measure to the fact that this latest weapon is being launched from the very heights of the White House and Downing Street.

The assault against the burka by the US first lady and the UK's Cherie Blair lends credibility to the argument that the war campaign in Afghanistan is against Muslims and Islam, rather than terrorism. But what is it that has provoked these two capable and intelligent women to pick up this crusade?

Laura Bush does not have a history as a campaigner on the plight of her fellow sisters. "Had she been," according to one columnist, "she would, presumably, have laboured tirelessly for the millions of American women, most of them black or Hispanic, who live below the poverty line and whose chances of enjoying the life of a liberated modern woman are little better than those of women anywhere worldwide."

Cherie Blair, QC, on the other hand, can claim to be some kind of human rights champion. So the next campaign for the bright Mrs Blair could be to highlight the treatment of women in China. Beijing, as we all know, does not allow women to have more than one child, thereby implicitly encouraging them to kill their female babies.

However, nobody expects bombs or statements directed from Downing Street to rain on the People's Republic of China merely because they murder female children.

Nobody is arguing against alleviating the plight of Afghan women. But any meaningful effort must be sensitive and respectful to their experiences, context and faith. Otherwise the result could be disastrous.

The issue of the burka in Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the Muslim world, is not about the garment itself. Women wore such clothing even before Islam and will continue to do so as a matter of choice.

Those western women like Mrs Bush and Mrs Blair, ostensibly offended by the sight of such attire, must learn to accept that the sight of scantily-clad women has the same effect on many in the world. In both extreme cases one must understand the notion of choice.

While the Taliban were imposing their beliefs and reducing freedom on one side, the same can be said of the male-dominated and often misogynistic fashion industry on the other. The question of which is the more ruthless form of persuasion, the lashes of the Taliban or the multimillion-pound advertising flashes of the fashion industry, remains a moot point.

Mrs Blair's concerns would have had more legitimacy if she had also been prepared to ask some serious questions about the situation in Afghanistan. Was the war, for instance, by the world's richest nations against the poorest, necessary? Is western support of the equally murderous and sexist forces of the Northern Alliance the only option available?

But perhaps before embarking on her burka-bashing mission thousands of miles away, Cherie Blair should have asked a few questions at home.

"Dear Tony," she could have whispered, "does the government have any initiative aimed at improving the lot of British Muslim women?"

Or perhaps, over an Indian meal, she could ask: "And darling, where are the women when you meet spokesmen who claim to be representatives of the Muslim community?"

But then again, Tony might just be too busy reading a translation of the Koran he received from one of his male Muslim advisers.

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