My wardrobe changes depending on whether I’m in or out of love. I’ve always had what I call ‘boyfriend clothes’
My wardrobe changes depending on whether I’m in or out of love. I’ve always had what I call ‘boyfriend clothes’. You know, hint of cleavage, flash of midriff, bit of leg, sleeveless stuff — that I wouldn’t bother to wear when there’s no bloke attached. It’s simply not worth ruining your evening with boring Hindutva stares and guys raping you with their eyes. Not that most of the blokes I’ve been with have ever been alert about the stares, but that’s another column. Currently, I’m more Modesty Blaise.
An Australian lifequard talks to a young girl whilst wearing a burkini on her first surf lifesaving patrol at North Cronulla Beach in Sydney. The red and yellow ‘burkini’ was specially designed for Muslim lifesavers to allow females to fulfil both their patrolling and religious obligations. Pic/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
So, it is a piquant sign of the times that you have to strip if you’re secular. Modesty is illegal, half-nanga is secular. Following France’s ban on the burkini/burqini (burqa + bikini, a full body suit) in Cannes and elsewhere — later lifted — French police forced some women wearing burkinis to strip off their outer wear to prove their ‘secularity.’ French vastraharan indeed.
I think the burkini is a great idea, if you want it. It allows a lot of women, young and old, who prefer to dress modestly, to get out there and have a blast in sports or swimming. Aheda Zanetti, designer of the burkini, has said she has sold 7,00,000 pieces. The burkini is only marginally different from the modest one-piece swimsuit, full leggings and swimming cap, that is swimwear for a lot of Indian women non-competitive swimmers. Of course men, and non-Islamic women, can get away wearing burkinis simply by calling them wetsuits.
I had gifted myself swimming lessons for a birthday and cringed when I had to get into even a one-piece swimsuit. Though it was utterly modest by swimsuit standards, covering my entire torso and bum, I was painfully self-conscious, nervously pulling the edges around my bum, my eyes always lowered. If only I could have found something elegant that covered my entire body, ah, I would have swum without a care in the world! Most of the other women in the pool were aunty types in nightie-style, one-piece swimsuits, with long frills worn over full leggings — a patent affront to the eye. I didn’t know of burkinis then, or I might have considered one.
In fact, it was my extreme shyness in a bikini that made me choose a women-only slot at the Willingdon Catholic Gym pool. But this was mainly in the afternoons, for housewives and the unemployed: you couldn’t possibly be a working woman and want to swim and be modest — c’est trop! I’ve since learnt to enjoy swimming — I tend to giggle madly when I enter a pool, I enjoy it so much — and don’t give a damn what others think of what I wear. The trick in defusing body shaming or ‘eye-rapes’ is to not make eye contact in the first place. Just look ahead and proceed jauntily in life, is my motto.
The French police, who forced some women wearing burkinis to strip off their outer wear, were hoping to find ‘secular bikinis’ beneath — but found the women fully clothed underneath. Indian ending to France’s Draupadi vastraharan. Most Indian women wade into the sea fully clothed in saris. I hope they won’t be asked to be secular.
Meenakshi Shedde is South Asia Consultant to Berlin Film Festival, award-winning critic, curator to festivals worldwide and journalist. Reach her at meenakshishedde@gmail.com
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
