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The jewellers in my city have stopped allowing veiled women wearing the burqa into their shops, because surveillance cameras fail to identify thieves who rob stores wearing it.
Pune jewellers bar entry to women wearing burqa
[ 28 Dec, 2006 0052hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MUMBAI: The burqa is back in the news. This time it's not religious zealots or political firestarters but jewellers in Pune who want to lift the veil.
After surveillance cameras failed to identify two burqa-clad who robbed leading jewellery stores in Pune, the trade in the city has decided to put restrictions on customers who come wearing the attire.
The Maharashtra Jewellers' Association has written to the state home minister to allow jewellers in Pune to put up a board outside their shops informing them of the 'no burqa' policy.
To press for their demand, Pune jewellers have even decided to close their stores on December 29 and also stop dealing with women who walk in cloaked in a burqa from January 1 onwards. But Mumbai's jewellers have not been informed of the move.
The proposal has generated a variety of views. While a section of Muslim clerics said it did not stem from communal bias and appeared to be aimed at safeguarding commercial interests, women who use the attire felt it was "insensitive" to profile people on the basis of their dress.
Pune was rocked by major thefts in two big stores during the Diwali rush. One store suffered a loss of Rs three lakh and the other almost Rs four lakh. CCTV footage showed burqa-clad women stealing the gold.
"The jewellers had taken adequate care by putting up CCTV cameras but the police were helpless as they could not identify the women," said association president Fatehchand Ranka from Pune.
Ranka clarified that if a woman removed her naqab for the surveillance camera to record her face, she would be allowed into the store.
"We are not against any religion. In fact a Rajasthani woman in a ghunghat will also be asked to remove her veil. The point is to identify a person, not to disrobe anyone," he said.
News of the proposal has not yet reached Zaveri Bazaar, one of the hubs for the jewellery trade in Mumbai, but a leading Colaba jeweller told TOI that he could understand the rationale behind the move.
"The problem is burqas are generally oversized and we can't even see the woman's hands. So if she is stashing ornaments inside her body, we won't know. We remain extra alert. It's an unwritten practice followed discreetly by us," he said requesting anonymity.
The state minority commission, however, described the move as dangerous. "Tomorrow they will say that burqa-clad thieves robbed a bank, so veiled women won't be allowed even in banks," Naseem Siqqiqui, chairman of the commission, said.
He added that a woman should be given the choice whether she wants to shop in jeans or in burqa. Siddiqui urged every community to condemn this decision.
"Tomorrow, storekeepers could urge Sikhs to yank off their turbans just because someone uses the headgear to hide a revolver."
But secretary of All India Ulema Council Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi justified the jewellers' decision and said it stemmed from a commercial motive and did not reflect religious bias.
"They do not seem to be against any religion but are acting purely on business interests. Given the losses they suffered, they have every right to protect their valuables in their premises. They want to know who walks into their shop and that's not asking for much," he said.
However, women who wear a veil may not take too kindly to the proposal. Sophia College student Shazli Shaikh from Colaba, who shops regularly along with her three sisters wearing burqa, said the move was insensitive.
"Crime has no religion. Non-Muslims are misusing the burqa for criminal purposes and we are being painted with the same brush."
Just goes to show that the burqa (and a few other aspects of Muslim culture) is incompatible with non-Muslim societies, or even modern societies.
I must applaud the guts of the jewellers.
The jewellers in my city have stopped allowing veiled women wearing the burqa into their shops, because surveillance cameras fail to identify thieves who rob stores wearing it.
Pune jewellers bar entry to women wearing burqa
[ 28 Dec, 2006 0052hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MUMBAI: The burqa is back in the news. This time it's not religious zealots or political firestarters but jewellers in Pune who want to lift the veil.
After surveillance cameras failed to identify two burqa-clad who robbed leading jewellery stores in Pune, the trade in the city has decided to put restrictions on customers who come wearing the attire.
The Maharashtra Jewellers' Association has written to the state home minister to allow jewellers in Pune to put up a board outside their shops informing them of the 'no burqa' policy.
To press for their demand, Pune jewellers have even decided to close their stores on December 29 and also stop dealing with women who walk in cloaked in a burqa from January 1 onwards. But Mumbai's jewellers have not been informed of the move.
The proposal has generated a variety of views. While a section of Muslim clerics said it did not stem from communal bias and appeared to be aimed at safeguarding commercial interests, women who use the attire felt it was "insensitive" to profile people on the basis of their dress.
Pune was rocked by major thefts in two big stores during the Diwali rush. One store suffered a loss of Rs three lakh and the other almost Rs four lakh. CCTV footage showed burqa-clad women stealing the gold.
"The jewellers had taken adequate care by putting up CCTV cameras but the police were helpless as they could not identify the women," said association president Fatehchand Ranka from Pune.
Ranka clarified that if a woman removed her naqab for the surveillance camera to record her face, she would be allowed into the store.
"We are not against any religion. In fact a Rajasthani woman in a ghunghat will also be asked to remove her veil. The point is to identify a person, not to disrobe anyone," he said.
News of the proposal has not yet reached Zaveri Bazaar, one of the hubs for the jewellery trade in Mumbai, but a leading Colaba jeweller told TOI that he could understand the rationale behind the move.
"The problem is burqas are generally oversized and we can't even see the woman's hands. So if she is stashing ornaments inside her body, we won't know. We remain extra alert. It's an unwritten practice followed discreetly by us," he said requesting anonymity.
The state minority commission, however, described the move as dangerous. "Tomorrow they will say that burqa-clad thieves robbed a bank, so veiled women won't be allowed even in banks," Naseem Siqqiqui, chairman of the commission, said.
He added that a woman should be given the choice whether she wants to shop in jeans or in burqa. Siddiqui urged every community to condemn this decision.
"Tomorrow, storekeepers could urge Sikhs to yank off their turbans just because someone uses the headgear to hide a revolver."
But secretary of All India Ulema Council Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi justified the jewellers' decision and said it stemmed from a commercial motive and did not reflect religious bias.
"They do not seem to be against any religion but are acting purely on business interests. Given the losses they suffered, they have every right to protect their valuables in their premises. They want to know who walks into their shop and that's not asking for much," he said.
However, women who wear a veil may not take too kindly to the proposal. Sophia College student Shazli Shaikh from Colaba, who shops regularly along with her three sisters wearing burqa, said the move was insensitive.
"Crime has no religion. Non-Muslims are misusing the burqa for criminal purposes and we are being painted with the same brush."
Just goes to show that the burqa (and a few other aspects of Muslim culture) is incompatible with non-Muslim societies, or even modern societies.
I must applaud the guts of the jewellers.
Moishe! (for not saying Jeez)
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