SRINAGAR, Sept 9: In what seems to be more of a French, insecure, way of handling the Purdah – a head to toe covering worn by Muslim women – authorities on Saturday allegedly asked a female football fan to remove her veil or leave the stadium where the much awaited match between the state team and soccer giant, Mohun Bagan was being played.
“Madam, you can’t watch the Football match because you have fully covered your body as well as face…You can only watch it if you will remove your veil. These were the strict words of police personnel, guarding the Stadium,” a local daily, Kashmir Observer quoted a foul-mooded fan, Shahana as saying.
Thousands of eager spectators had turned up for the match, the second time that the home-team played with any Indian premier football club in the city this year, and that too after 28 years.
With a two-decade-long armed conflict waning, sports activities are picking up. A large number of fans turned up for a soccer game between the home-team JK-XI and the Mohammadan Sporting Club, Kolkata earlier this year.
Shahana said she was given a choice to either remove her veil or “leave the venue”.
“I showed my face to a woman security guard at the main entrance. But during the match a lady constable asked me to either remove the veil or leave the stadium,” she said.
Although the number of the Purdah-donning women in Muslim-majority region is not that large, the dress code is picking up especially among young females; and so are incidents when wearing the dress was perceived to be a hassle in security procedures.
Just days ago, a university student said she was slapped in the face by a woman cop allegedly for refusing to remove her Hijaab during a security check. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had been expected to attend a function at the Islamic University of Science and Technology and police said the girl had refused to comply with security measures.
“When I refused to obey her, she forcibly pulled my veil and I had to hide my face. Then I asked her why and she got irritated and slapped me,” said a 22-year-old student of Islamic studies, Kausar Tasleem.
Shahana said she has watched cricket matches at stadiums in Mohali and other places across the country, but was never told her dress was an impediment. “It is very unfortunate to be maltreated in one’s homeland,” she said.
Police, however, have been passing the blame. “I have no knowledge about it. This comes directly under security wing,” a police spokesperson said to the newspaper.
The officers of the police’s security wing could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
