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"City’s Muslim women go for fancy burkhas this Ramzan"
Humaira Ansari, August 24, 2010, Daily News & Analysis
In his modestly sized Al-hijab boutique in Agripada, Khalid Siddique, is hunched over his computer screen, checking out the latest burkha design trends, imported from his uncle’s burkha studio in Dubai. “During Ramzan, burkha sales tend to shoot up by almost 50%,” says Siddique.
Given the fact that most burkha-wearing women flaunt their best burkhas for iftar parties and especially on Eid, the rise in sales of this religious robe is not astonishing. But what is surprising is how the plain-Jane burkha has today gone all glam. So, while a decade ago, burkhas were usually black loose robes with casual lacing or modest embroidery at best; today, the city’s Muslim women have a whole range of designer burkhas to choose from.
Straight-fit, fish cut, umbrella cut, crystal-studded, intricate floral motifs, and waist coat styled with leather patch work, the price range of these burkhas starts from Rs450 and goes up to a staggering Rs15, 000, depending on the fabric and design.
“Burkhas have become more a fashion statement now,” says Mohammed Yusuf Abdul Gaffar Sareewala, owner of New Janata Cloth Store, an 80-year-old burkha shop at Mohammed Ali Road. “Earlier, the best we could offer were three to four designs, but now even a hundred designs are not enough to satisfy customers,” he says, adding that burkha sales go up by at least 30% during Ramzan.
For women who only wear the burkha, there is one for every occasion. Like Zahida Azmi, wife of politician Abu Asim Azmi, and one of Khalid’s regular clients. “I always wear burkha. It’s like my second skin,” says Zahida, differentiating between “party wear burkha to the heavy ones for weddings and the simple ones for casual occasions.”
Most shops in the city import fabrics from Dubai, regarded as the Mecca for burkhas.
The bohra women who wear ridas, a colourful variation of burkha, are also experimenting with the attire. “Initially the ridas involved a lot of sequin work which hurt the knee while praying. Now, it's more of fancy patchwork,” says Alefiya Bhanpurwala, co-owner, Maimoon boutique, located at Bohri Mohalla, Bhendi bazaar.
Inclusion of brighter shades and contemporary designs isto “attract the younger generation to wear ridas,” she says.
The annual burkha ramp walk in Dubai is also closely watched by those in the burkha business back home. Using these international designs as inspiration, the Indian rip-offs must be suitably modified. Asif Khan, designer and owner of D’zainerz Burqa Collection at Dongri, explains, “The floor-touching burkhas are a big hit in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, but given the condition of streets in Mumbai, that is obviously ruled out.”
According to Khan, tight-fitting burkhas with intricate work on just the sleeves and the shayla (head scarf) or the plain-fitting ones with heavy broaches on each sleeve and the burkha front are much in vogue this Ramzan. He reveals, “Two years ago, a 36-inch fit would mean a 42-inch sized burkha. But that figure came down to 38-inches last year. Today, everybody wants a cut-to-cut size.”
So while French president Nicholas Sarkozy may have called burkhas a sign of “subservience” and “debasement of women”, the city’s young women aren’t shying away from experimenting with this religious attire, with contemporary and chic cuts and designs, giving the traditional burkha a whole new meaning.