NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian chief election commissioner T.N. Seshan’s insistence on the introduction of photo identity cards for every voter may come unstuck in the face of strident opposition from the Muslim community against women being photographed reports the Hindustan Times.
When asked for their reaction to Seshan’s fiat many Muslim residents in the capital have said that the Shariat prohibits women to come out of Purdah so taking photographs of their uncovered faces is un-Islamic and therefore can be permitted.
They will lift our burqas in public and survey our face to see if it matches the photo it will be a shameless parade said an outraged Chaman Praveen.
She also declared that she would not allow her unmarried daughters ‘and young daughters-in-law to cast their vote if it meant such exposure. Chaman’s views found an echo among many other Muslim women and their husbands in Delhi. Given this strong reaction the government is likely to witness demonstrations and protests from fundamentalists who are sure to dub the card move as sacrilege.
While opinion is divided on this there is a sizeable section of the Muslim women population particularly in Jamia Millia Nizamuddin and the walled city here who say that if photo identity cards (PICs) are made compulsory they would refrain from voting.
Their objections are mainly on grounds of religion and modesty. Some consider pictures of any kind to be anti-Islamic: others abhor the very idea of their photographs being circulated outside their homes.
According to them Islam makes a provision only for what they describe as restrictive photography: that which is for one’s personal use. This group is unlike the first who find a distinction between images (which are prohibited in Islam) and human photographs
Article extracted from this publication >> January 28, 1994
