Dare I Criticize Pakistani Fashion?
By Ziad Bashir
In this article, I am going to argue a point that I hate arguing about, mostly because the response I get to my arguments is usually far from the point, and never focuses on the entire argument I present. Dare I, a self-proclaimed liberal, argue against the direction that Pakistani fashion has taken? If I do, I risk being called a fundamentalist, some of my more enlightened friends would even go as far as to claim that I am in favour of taking freedoms away from the fashion designers, who have brought much business and good press to this country, all in the name of religion.
I better get started then.
First of all, a disclaimer: I am by no means against Pakistan’s fashion Industry. In fact, I have no problems with most of it. But I draw the line, when in my country; norms of modesty are crossed in the name of business.
As mentioned earlier I consider myself to be a liberal, a Muslim liberal. And as such, I welcome all cultures, modern practices and technology without bias no matter where in the world they originated from, as long as they are not imposed over my Islamic beliefs. Personally, I turn away from ramp walks because nobody is forcing me to watch them on TV or attend them, nor inviting me, for that matter. But as part of the same society, I oppose some of the practices of this industry because it affects the same society as mine, promoting a dress code that, I think, is unanimously considered unislamic and immoral by Islamic standards. I refer here to dresses that reveal more of a man’s or a woman’s body than is acceptable in Islam (yes, I am not just talking about female models, contrary to my repute as extremely sexist in approach to all things).
So, looking at it objectively, these Muslim designers that are otherwise doing a very good job for the industry should be more careful about what their dresses would have the model reveal. Now, I understand that perhaps some of my fellow Muslims would argue that my own standards of “modesty” are by no means agreeable to all (depending on their interpretation of the Islamic dress code), so what gives me the right to demand this? That would be a valid point if perhaps majority is of the opinion that Pakistani Fashion is perfectly ok by their religious standards. I suppose we can measure that opinion when comments start flowing in. It would give me a better idea too, am I the only one who thinks our fashion industry is going too far in this socio-cultural setup? One doesn’t have to be a Muslim to respect the sentiments of over 90% Muslim population of Pakistan.
But see, the reason I write this is not just that I myself have been offended. The situation may be direr considering that we live in a country where women are killed for honour and innocents blown up in the name of Islam. When the good guys cross the liberal extreme, the bad guys gain more ground to cross the fundamental extreme. Some of them then take matters into their own hands, misguided into believing that they are hence serving the cause of Allah. Give some regard to their beliefs, so they may respect your moderate ones. They are not aliens.
One extreme cannot exist without the other. In this country, specially, we must be careful to at least abide by the standards of the majority moderate Muslims.
Veena Malik would argue: SO THE CAUSE OF TERRORISM IN PAKISTAN IS OUR FASHION INDUSTRY? Mufti Sahab, ye kia baat hui? :@
No. But- damn -_-
Well that^ is one example of how my arguments about respecting the socio-cultural sensitivities of other Pakistanis could be twisted. It’s called straw man fallacy- I think.
So anyway, I believe the fashion industry could continue to thrive and create jobs by staying within the Islamic standards of modesty, unless those standards are redefined through arguing the interpretation of the relevant Islamic teachings. If the government is moved by the people to take action against this industry, forcing it into submission could lead to devastating results. So even from a business point of view, the Fashion Industry needs to either have a plan B, or a more flexible plan A.
I have tried to stay away from defining what is acceptable to me in fashion, because I understand that everyone’s standards may differ, however, I am sure many of you will have a limit that Pakistani fashion has crossed- this reaction from most people I know is what has given me some ground to write this. And I request that you do not judge that standard by the pictures used in this blog post.
Like my mother says, ‘Ye fashion nahin, behayai hai’
I’ve often heard different designers claim that the Pakistani fashion scene is different from all others in that it stays true to our culture. If that is true, either I don’t live in Pakistan or they reside in some parallel universe.
At the end of the day, to each his own.
Ziad, thanks for stating what a lot of people are thinking, but not talking about.
That said, I think this pseudo-liberalism is creeping into our television sets as well. Was watching TV the other day and a showbiz couple were guests on some talk show. The guy kept caressing the wife’s arms! Millions of people watched him as he caressed her arms. How strange! What’s liberal about this? There was no showing of skin, but there was definitely a private moment the couple needed. If Pakistan is still renowned for its good TV, we need some work to do to ensure the standards are maintained.
Hey thanks for the vote of approval. But i think we are deviating from the topic. I do not know HOW intimate they made it look on TV, but at least it wasn’t outright immoral, she’s his wife and fully covered as you said.
Kudos on identifying something that is on the minds of many ‘liberal’ or ‘educated’ Pakistanis but unfortunately the situation is much more complicated than the semblance that you’ve provided. Firstly, yes, very few Pakistanis actually wear the dresses displayed on the ramp and the way they’re worn but at the same time there are people who do wear these dresses and have no problem in wearing them and believe there’s nothing wrong with it so on those grounds won’t we be just imposing our beliefs on these people if we take an action? Moreover, if people have such a problem with the current fashion scenario then how is the fashion industry thriving? Secondly,Islam hasn’t given us a dress as such but Islam does provide with guidelines as to how we should dress but unfortunately even those are highly arguable. Many firmly believe that women should cover their heads, a large population of Muslims in the world believe the burqa is the proper dress for women and some orthodox minds believe that even men shouldn’t wear jeans (I felt as I was focusing too much on women). Furthermore, talking about mindsets and beliefs many people believe that men and women shouldn’t interact with each other as freely as they’re able to right now and they’re able to back this us up with Islamic references as well. Same goes for domestic violence and having cordial relations with non-Muslims. So my point being that it’s really difficult to ascertain as to what’s Islamicly right or wrong. Also, what if people just don’t want to follow the Islamic guidelines? Are we gonna force them? Thirdly, I felt that you should’ve given as example or something to show which sort of dressing you’re disapproving off. Fourthly, the fashion industry isn’t forcing you to watch the fashion shows or making you buy such clothes so exactly what issue do you have with it? Fifthly, and hopefully lastly, isn’t it a bit hypocritical on our end to silently condemn such dressing? I mean we all watch tv and are exposed to all sorts of media, western, Indian and local and when we see say actors or actresses in Western or Indian media wearing dresses or committing acts which would normally be condemned in our society we seem to have no problem with it. Many times we would actually praise the way these stars were looking. In conclusion, I don’t have any problem with current ‘Islamicness’ of the fashion industry but yes, they should introduce dresses which would cater to the ‘un-catered’ population of the country as well.
Sorry for writing for such a long comment. Hopefully, it’ll make sense =)
Actually Naafeh, things arent as unclear as you seem to think so. Muslims arent a confused bunch, we do agree on basic principles- and THAT is what i request we should uphold, whatever we unanimously agree on.
Firstly, there is a minority in Pakistan that does disagree with the norms of the society, but it is not thus justified that you have such complete disregard for the majority\’s view that you live in the same society as them, but choose to ignore their sentiments. Because they do the same when they restrict girls from studying and we protest because they are stopping our society from progressing. I hope you see the point i made: the problem is not what people believe, the problem is how they choose to act on the difference of their belief. Also, i urge you to not just focus on things we disagree on, but things we DO agree on and at least ensuring them.
I HATE to give the example of celebrities, but since they have such a popular profile, this might appeal to more: Angelina Jolie visited Pakistan on a few occasions, the floods and the earthquake, but while she was here, she dressed in Pakistani attire, even a dupatta i think. That doesn\’t make her any less of a superstar, or a slave to our \”mindset\” but a good human being who visited us and respected the norms of THIS society. Thats all i request from the rest of us. We must respect the majority\’s view even if we disagree with it, its called being civilized. In our own spaces, where the rest of the society doesnt get affected by it, we may choose to live or dress the way we want.
Next, yes, we do disagree on our interpretations of Islamic dress code, but you fail to mention that there are MANY points which everybody unanimously agrees on- Islam very clearly describes some parts of the body cannot be bared, so forget disagreement, in our modernity we ignore even the boundaries where there ISNT any controversy. THATS what i am hoping to bring to your attention.
And then i felt you didnt read my full article because you asked the exact questions which i pointed out i am trying to answer. You mentioned that fashion industry isnt forcing itself on me, then whats the problem. Here\’s your answer from the article \”But as part of the same society, I oppose some of the practices of this industry because it affects the same society as mine\”. This isnt a private party, its a business that caters to a select few, and disregards the rest.
Then you called me a hypocrite because apparently i do not have a problem with Indian or western actresses wearing whatever the hell they like… I am sorry, but who said that i watch them without any problem? I dont have a problem with what they do in their country or in their societies, but when we telecast them here just to make money out of their entertainment industry in our market, YES i have a problem with it. How exactly does that make me a hypocrite? And similarly, while there are hypocrites around, its folly on your part to bundle them all together and paint such a portrait of us.
in fact, these are such people i address here in fact, who would agree that such a culture is unislamic but would still be a part of it (maybe because they dont care or think its not their place to act or take responsibility), so you assume the opposite of my actual stance to be true.
You raised points of imposing Islam etc on people who dont agree with it, and me not giving any proper definition of dresses i do have a problem with, i think i have answered those questions in the article, feel free to go through it again.
The dress code is not defined but as Ziad pointed out, the body parts which should not be revealed have been defined.
bravo ziad for ur reply. and for the article, i do wonder which direction our fashion industry is taking on in the name of modernism and yes there are people who do agree with you and haven’t raised the point yet. our generation has knack of following every fashion trend, keeping that in mind, our fashion designers should be more aware of what they are displaying for them
Hats off to you Ziad. I am so glad you brought this up. When I started my buisness, I was contacted by numerous TV channels which offered me coverage if I would invite a model and the so called elite of Lahore which I refused to do. Even today as a matter of principle, we at Simplicity never use female models. What I would not want for my daughters, how can I wish for other girls.
I dont know if I can make much difference but I am trying to do my bit.
Its so admirable that despite being in the field, you stick to what you believe even if its different from the norms of the industry.
I stop just short of criticizing the profession of modeling itself, but i draw the line when even the farthest lines of modesty are crossed. Thanks a lot for your feedback =)
(as the writer on panache) thank you for giving me “ideas” for the next issue’s write-up =P and needless to say, excellent analysis! especially from a person not very much into fashion =P *hats off*
writer of* panache =P
I’m glad someone wrote about this. I was starting to think everyone is ok with these half nude models popping up on television. When it comes to fashion, or being fashionable, sadly, a lot of people think less is more. (I’m referring to the quantity of clothing). You can be fashionable even if you cover up. But that’s just how I perceive it.