It's time we leave the 16-year-old alone.
Zaira Wasim, the 16-year-old who starred in Dangal, playing the iconic role of wrestler Geeta Phogat, seems to have become controversy's child since the past weeks. The online bullying that the teenager was subjected to, took a turn for the worse when pictures of masked men holding posters with her face alongside Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti surfaced on Friday. The poster carried a sinister message: “Justice with you. IS to kill you.”
Is this what it has come to? Are we trying to make Zaira the next Malala? These men are covering their faces up because they aren't even committed to their cause, it is an act of cowardice to target a young girl, using her as a pawn to start a rift that she has no part in at all.
Meanwhile, BJP MP and Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel tweeted to the Valley girl on Thursday:
To which Zaira replied:
At age 16, all any of us cared for what was not to fail college because we had suddenly been set free from the leashes of school. And here is a young girl, one of the rays of hope in the valley of despair, becoming an icon to girls and women alike, that it is possible to live in an unfortunately calamity struck Kashmir, and still have the freedom to go ahead and achieve your dreams, those that once seemed so out of reach.
Yet politicians and fundamentalists of all hues, are taking advantage of a teenager, piggybacking on her personal success earned through her own struggle and hard work, to push forward their own agendas. Sorry Mr. Vijay Goel, but being a hijabi doesn't make one oppressed, instead living in a country where men decide what is oppression is the bigger problem. It's a big issue when men think it's okay to molest women on New Year's Day just because they are wearing something.
Let's not take away blame from the fanatics who have brought shame to Islam, a word whose literal translation is peace. You claim it is un-Islamic to act in movies, but it seems like you missed a few lessons. According to Islam, anyone who discredits a person and resorts to the use of harsh words during an argument is a munafik (a person who acts Islamic but is not a true believer), and that is the worst kind of disgrace a Muslim can bring upon oneself.
Here's why I relate to 16-year-old Zaira, I was born and raised in Mumbai in a fairly conservative family, my older sisters wore the hijab, my mother the Niqab, and at age 13 I went on pilgrimage with my family to Makkah, at that point I felt enlightenment of a kind I can't put into words, and without any coercion from my father, I took on the hijab.
To all those who think covering up in oppressive, it really is not, I have never felt more respected than when I have been in hijab, I understand that when something is a compulsion and not a choice it is the definition of oppression, so once again it boils down to patriarchy, women don't need to be allowed to do things, there is no reason to ask for permission to do something for yourself, but men have always felt that they somehow "know" better and that it is okay for them to dictate the lives of women. It is not!
Two years ago, I realised that I no longer felt committed to my hijab, it was just a cloth on my head, it wasn't doing anything to make me a better Muslim, as my faith was strong with or without this cloth. By that time I had been wearing the hijab for a good eight years, and this sudden shift within me made me question myself, "Had I suddenly lost it? Why did I suddenly not want to wear it?"
The answer to these nagging questions was: I had educated myself about my religion, and found that the hijab wasn't about the cloth covering my head, it was about the broader concept of modesty.
Hijab in Arabic literally translates to "barrier" or "partition". In Islam, however, it has a broader meaning, it is about the principle of modesty and includes behaviour as well as dress for both males and females. The head covering is just the visible form, so knowing that I was modest without it too, I stopped covering my head.
True to their invasive nature, the community that I belong to began to label me, the amount of flak that I got for taking it off was insane, I was dubbed "characterless", "too modern" for people's liking, and these people went to the extent of warning my father, "Ab isse kaun shaadi karega?"
I think it was this opposition that made me angrier and even if I were to go back to it, I chose not to, because modesty is a fluid concept, I feel modest even without my head covered, some girls feel modest in shorts, and girl.... believe me you are doing hijab too if you are comfotable within your concepts of modesty.
I know now a lot of people may get offended that who am I to dictate what is hijab, and what is not, but I'm not dictating, I'm merely observing, it's 2017, can we get past what a girl wears and look at things that truly matter?
Being a Muslim was never a stigma while I was growing up, my religion never defined me, but now it seems to be the only thing people will talk about. The reason for this is the backward thinking that comes with being an Indian Muslim man, there is no support given to women who strive to make something of their lives, who try to stay within the comfort and dignity of Islam and still fight to achieve their dreams, instead women are brutally disgraced.
What do you expect a woman to do if not get frustrated and completely renounce her religion... if Zaira wasn't a Muslim woman, would her life not have been easier? Why has no one ever criticised Salman, Shahrukh and Aamir for being Muslim actors? Is it just because Zaira is a girl, that it is suddenly haram?
It is ironic these religious trolls and fanatics who sit within the comfort of their homes and think they have the right to comment on a 16-year-old girl who has achieved more than they ever will. Who are you men? Who taught you Islam? Why are you so concerned about what a teenager is saying? You were probably smoking your first cigarette at 16 (haram!)
So I will finish off with a little message to Zaira, "Do not ever apologise for who you are and what you want from your life, because apologies should be given by those who are wrong, and you are not. You worked hard to get here, and if anything you should be proud of what you have achieved."
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are the author's own.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Zaira Wasim and Vijay Goel")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}