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November 19, 2005

India: Muslim Moralists Aren't Alone in Attacks Upon Women

We reported yesterday on Australia's Dr Ameer Ali condemning the notion of Muslim model Michelle Leslie advertising lingerie. Earlier still, we wrote of Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, who was riding out a storm created by Muslim fanatics from the Sunni Ulema Board, who criticised her wearing of a skimpy tennis costume, who in October also threatened to disrupt one of her tennis matches.

Now Sania Mirza faces a new battle with the moralisers in her country, for apparently voicing an opinion on pre-marital sex. She reportedly said she approved of comments made by a woman named Kushboo on a discussion on Wednesday in Delhi. Even though the host of the discussion, Vir Sanghvi, denied that Sania had discussed the issue of Kushboo's comments, the Islamic clerics went to press to condemn her once again. In Tamil Nadu, the state at the southeastern tip of India, Tamil film actress Kushboo has been physically attacked and even taken to court for stating that she did not condemn premarital sex.

On Thursday, the Indian press was churning out stories saying that Sania had said that sex should be "safe" before or after marriage. The quoted comment is this:

"So there are two issues here, safe sex and sex before marriage. You don't want me to tell you that you have to have safe sex, whether it is before or after marriage. Everyone must know what he or she is doing."

One Muslim activist group, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad had demonstrations in various locations, where posters of Sania were set on fire, states the Hindustan Times. Again the Sunni Ulema Board were condemnatory, with their general secretary, Moulana Haseebul Hasan Siddiqui saying: "Fornication is a major sin in Islam. A Muslim man or woman can't even mingle freely before marriage, not to talk about having sex. If a Muslim promotes fornication, he or she is considered expelled from Islam."

"When we asked her to follow the Islamic dress code many people criticised us but today even those people are not happy with her statements. This is because pre-marital sex is not only against Islam but also against Indian and Asian traditions. If you promote sex before marriage there will be no difference between a man and an animal", he continued.

Today, sports.espn.go announces that Sania has been forced to make a public announcement, condemning pre-marital sex. She said yesterday: "I would like to clearly say on record that I could not possibly justify premarital sex, as it is a very big sin in Islam and one which I believe will not be forgiven by Allah."

Earlier on Friday, demonstrators from the student wings of the main Hindu parties also joined in the attacks against Sania Mirza, burning paper effigies of her in Hyderabad and three other towns.

Sania's supposed comments came about on a conference organised by Hindustan Times. One interesting comment that she did make was this: "As long as I am winning, people shouldn't care whether my skirt is 6 inches long or 6 feet long. How I dress is very personal thing. It is scary that every time I wear a T-shirt, it becomes a talking point for the next three days."

Also on the podium was Russian model, and Miss Universe, Natalie Glebanova, and it was she who actually spoke up in Kushboo's defence, according to Outlook India. "I had stressed on three main things regarding AIDS awareness (in my speech) ... One is practising safe sex," the Russian said. "Nobody can stop you from having sex, but protect yourself and others."

It appears that for Muslim and Hindu alike, guilt by association is enough to condemn Sania Mirza for statements she never actually voiced herself. But what triggered the issue in the first place?

Apparently Kushboo (pictured), made a statement in a magazine interview that she saw nothing wrong with pre-marital sex as long as it was practised safely. For this innocuous comment, Kushboo has been pilloried, and her films have been withdrawn from cinemas in Tamil Nadu state.

She has been victimised by activists from the political party, the Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK. One activist named Murugun filed a defamation petition against her on October 3, saying her comments went against Tamil ethos and culture, states web india.

Since that first petition, more than two dozen more petitions have been made against her in various courts, states ndtv.com. When Kushboo left one court hearing in Mettur, she was pelted with slippers, tomatoes and was subjected to verbal abuses. She has even had broomsticks aimed at her.

One actress who had supported Kushboo, Suhasni, has similarly had petitions lodged against her. So far, in Kushboo's home state of Tamil Nadu, only one group has offered her their support, the Nadigar Sangam and its allies from the political left, states The Hindu.

What does the treatment of these two women say about the state of India? Firstly it is prudish, chauvinistic, and so tied up in issues about public morality that it has lost its moral compass. AIDS and HIV are spreading, with a 2003 report stating 5,000,000 adults are living with HIV in the nation, and 120,000 children are living with the disease. USAID states that 25% of all new infections are occurring in young women.

So comments about this serious issue are met with primitive displays of barbarism, as in the case of effigies and posters of Sania Mirza being burned, or primitive displays of violence, as in the case of Kushboo. Perhaps India's moral guardians should step into the real world and face the realities of the HIV threat, and in the case of Kushboo, they should not be shooting the messenger.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 19, 2005 7:19 PM

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Posted by: Vinayak at November 26, 2005 9:01 AM

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