Heena Sidhu is right; Muslim nations can't have double standards

In a bold move, former world number one pistol-shooter and defending champion Heena Sidhu has decided to withdraw from the Asian Airgun Shooting Championship to be held in Iran in December, citing compulsory hijab rule for all women athletes.

“Women's clothing in the shooting range and public places is required to conform to the rules and regulations of I. R. Iran,” the website of the tournament reads.

According to media reports, Sidhu wrote to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) three weeks back. On Saturday, in a series of tweets, she confirmed reports of skipping the tournament, adding that she is “not a revolutionary”, but feels that “making it mandatory for even a sportsperson to wear hijab is not in the spirit of a sport.” And Sidhu is right.

Shia Iran is not the only country to impose such a dress code, conservative Sunni Saudi Arabia is another country where even foreigners are asked to wear a closed cloak (abaya) and a headscarf (hijab) in public. Countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia have continued with a regressive dress code even for visiting foreign delegations, tourists and athletes despite international hue and cry over cultural sensitivity and religious values.

In January 2015, US First Lady Michelle Obama had caused outrage in Saudi Arabia by not wearing a headscarf during her formal visit with President Barack Obama. Saudis, and many other Muslims, had used Twitter then to express their disapproval with the hashtags #Michelle_Obama_Immodest and #Michelle_Obama_NotVeiled.

Agreed, that foreigners who are visiting these orthodox countries too need to be mindful of the conservative nature of many Muslim nations. Websites of the tourism department of most Muslim-majority countries note that both men and women are advised to dress “modestly” in public, in trousers and full shirts or such clothes that cover their body mostly.

Men are advised against wearing half pants or going bare-chested in public and women against wearing short skirts or “swimming attire in public areas”. Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, etc. have a more relaxed dress code and at tourist beaches and resorts, men and women have relative freedom in choosing what to wear or not wear.  

One of the reasons the Holy Quran wanted Muslim women to draw a loose garment from the head is that “they will be known (to be Muslim women) and not be abused.” (Quran: 33:59) Thus the hijab was supposed to distinguish Muslim women from non-Muslims. But even if a Muslim believes that women who do not cover their head are “sinning”, they have no right to impose their faith or choice on non-believers in the 21^st century.

Nothing justifies forcible head-covering for tourists, not just at religious places but everywhere in public, that too for athletes who come to participate in multinational sporting events. It is in contravention of basic principles of human rights, that all of us always give reference to when defending a woman's right to choose a hijab or burkini in the west.

What is more hypocritical though is that many Muslim rights activists, even those who are not from those countries, and who otherwise write and campaign against France or any western country’s forcible imposition of certain kind of dress codes in schools, offices, public places or beaches generally go silent on the issue or even if they resent the mandatory headscarf, it’s in a meek voice. Compare the reaction to this news with that when some districts in France banned the burkini on beaches.

Many of them seem to justify the dress code in the name of religious values and the law of the land. But we must not have double standards when it comes to dealing with issues of personal freedom, religious freedom and human rights. We Muslims cannot champion the cause of human rights when in minority, but talk of Sharia when in majority.

If Iran or Saudi Arabia or any Muslim country wants the west to respect a Muslim man or woman’s right to religious freedom, freedom to wear a veil or burkini, etc. they must begin with similar "open heart" policies in their own countries for foreign tourists, delegates or expatriate workers.

The president of the NRAI was meanwhile quoted in The Times of India as saying: “We have good ties with the Iranian shooting federation and we respect their culture and tradition. Whoever goes to Iran - tourists or diplomats - wears the hijab. Except Heena, all other Indian women shooters have accepted it.”

However, the Iranians might take a lesson from Indian women kabaddi players who, in the 2014 Asian Games, had paused for a few moments to allow an Iranian rival to tie her scarf properly during the final of the game in respect of her culture, when she got uncomfortable finding her scarf displaced.

Or, from those western countries who are gradually allowing women freedom to wear a hijab even while participating in the Olympics or serving in the police even though culturally they find it against their "liberal" value system.

Also read: France's burkini ban is Taliban-style moral policing, with a twist