No Filter: #Freedomtochoose: Hijab or not, women still criticised for clothing choices, face moral policing

Sanobar Sultana, a popular RJ in the city, is very outspoken and witty on social media. She knows the pulse of the city and has never been one to mince her words.

After the recent outpour of criticism on social media directed at AR Rahman when a photo of his daughter Khatija wearing the niqab emerged, I reached out to Sano to talk to her about being in the spotlight and living with constant criticism.

Sano used to wear a hijab and before you get started on a righteous rant, let me tell you it was of her own volition and it wasn’t forced on her. No, I didn’t ask her why because she shouldn’t have to defend or explain a personal choice.

In a politically correct world, with social media emboldening everyone with an agenda, we have taken it upon ourselves to politicise and criticise everyone’s choices without a healthy and reasonable conversation. When a person wears a hijab, niqab or a burka we all assume they have been oppressed. Many young Muslim women in the world and in Chennai are growing up exploring and trying to understand their own religious identity and we should give them the room to do that so they can define what religion means to them.

Sano tells me that when she had to attend interviews in the past, her interviewers were very careful and measured and it was a direct result of her wearing a hijab. People were apprehensive about talking to her. The onus of putting the interviewer at ease then falls on her. Sano in her usual style had everyone cracking up in a few minutes. Some have even been surprised that she could be funny. “When people saw me dressed in a hijab all they could see was the hijab — not the independent and successful career woman that I really was. Today, when I’m no longer wearing a hijab, I’m still being criticised for my choice of outfits. At the end of the day as women we are reduced to being a body and everyone seems to have an opinion on what we should or should not be wearing, while there is no moral dress code for a man,” she says indignantly and rightly so. Sano has had to deal with criticism from liberals and the moral police whilst learning to navigate her own personal choices and come into her own as a woman.

She tells me, “I don’t see myself as an inspiration or example to others. I hope my daughter sees me living my life on my own terms. Not even a life time of criticism has gotten or will get in the way of me achieving my dreams and that should give her the confidence to go after hers.”

We now live in a world where ‘your’ reasons for doing something are not as good as ‘my’ reasons for thinking you shouldn’t, even if the thing you are doing is personal just to you. In a world where facts mean nothing and only opinions have value, it seems that people’s opinion of what you do matters more than your own. So before we hastily try someone in the court of public opinion let’s start with reasonable conversations and let’s allow youngsters to define their own identity, be it religious or otherwise — that is true freedom. It is the month of love, people, let’s spread love and not hate.

Karthik Srinivasan’s life as a celebrity photographer is the envy of every cinephile and sports lover. A regular week for Karthik apart from teaching his students the art of photography, squeezing in the occasional wedding shoot is filled choc a bloc with celebrity shoots. One day he is photographing Maestro Ilaiyaraaja along with an orchestra playing live and the next day he is working with badminton sensation PV Sindhu.

Karthik’s photography has garnered fans across the world and is the reason why his calendar for 2019 is fast filling up. A little-known fact is that Karthik started out in Chennai as a model and was very popular for his tall, dark and handsome looks. His experience of being in front of the camera gives him an edge over others when he is behind the lens. In the midst of all this, he makes time for his family and is always there for his friends when it’s a special occasion. How does he manage to do this? Your guess is as good as mine — maybe, he has a time turner!