Madrasa Education and Muslim Women: Negotiating Modest Dressing

Influence of Madrasa on Body Image

Girls in madrasa are trained in embodying the standards of Islamic womanhood through continuous engagement with Islamic theology. ³³ It is undertaken through the formal and informal structure of a madrasa and reading in Islamic theology. It gets reflected in their outlook towards the world, their conception of themselves, and bodies, including clothing and confidence. ³⁴ As Zohra, 39 years old, who has joined madrasa out of curiosity when she saw her neighbour going to one, says about madrasa ‘when they were giving the degree it felt that all others degrees are nothing in front of it. From this, we would be able to teach deen (Islam) to many people, and we are grooming our akhirat (life after death) with this’. According to another respondent, ‘a Muslim woman is a believer in Allah and Islam. She follows the path described by Islam, and an Alima who has read about it knows about it from her learning of the Quran and Hadith in the madrasa’. An Alima is a devout Muslim. She undertakes every task in sync with her religion, which is also the case with her body image. The findings highlight how the Alimas negotiate their body images while keeping regard for the ideal body image of a Muslim woman.

The image of an ideal Muslim woman of faith who is also a preacher or ‘Kamil momina’ (devout female) is constructed at the madrasa. ³⁵ The image of a momina (faithful Muslim believer) entails practising purdah, which translates into wearing a burqa (loose robe covering the body from wrist to ankles, worn with head cover and nose-piece), which includes a nose piece above the clothes worn inside in this context. The body is strategised with a burqa above the dresses, cosmetics and accessories worn inside. It is important to note that the burqa and the identity of being a pious Muslim woman are interconnected. This idealisation has acted as the major influencing agent in seeding a specific picture of the ideal Muslim woman, which would include modesty and exclude immodesty. The madrasa’s dress code fuels this socialisation of bodies into modest bodies for hosteller and day-boarding students. It includes a burqa to be worn above a suit (long shirt with sides slits below waist) and a salwar (traditional bottom wear with cuffs at ankles) with gloves. For the students who live in the hostel, a specific set of clothing has been compulsory, including not wearing any tight-fitting clothes that make the body shape identifiable. Sanyal and Farha argue that students at madrasa subject themselves to rigorous ‘learning, discipling and ethics formation to become “pious” subjects’. ³⁶ Like those who used to wear leggings (tight fitted bottoms) have left wearing them and expressed it with pride.

The socialisation of bodies into piousness at the madrasa defined boundaries as to who an Alima allows to see her skin. Rather than interpreting it as caging, it is an expression of agency; as Mahmood argues, ‘agency is confined not just to acts that resist norms but the multiple ways in which norms are lived and inhabited’. ³⁷ The only people they allow to see them with adornments are the mahram (kins with whom marriage and sexual intercourse are illegal in Islam, excluding the husband with whom she is married), particularly the husband and other women. For instance, only the married respondents used to wear leggings, that too only in front of their spouse and changed it otherwise. This distinction between mahram and non-mahram has been learnt by students with strict disciplinary rules, wherein the madrasa students are not allowed to meet any man apart from their father and husband while living in the hostel. This has been informally knitted around inter-community acceptance among the madrasa students and other Muslims.

The dress code of madrasa entailed loosely fitted suit-salwar with long uppers with slight variations, as has been found in various studies across India. ³⁸ In our findings, all madrasa has almost similar dress code. From liking it to being just fine with it to being uncomfortable with it, this has been the reaction of respondents to their dress code in madrasa. The dress code has varied from differently coloured abaya (full-length outer garment covering the whole body except head, hands and feet) to specific colours of the hijab (head cover), to white suit-salwar with an abaya to the burqa. The initial wearing of the burqa by the Alima as part of the dress code has been associated with the image of momina. Different climatic conditions and cultural differences have also created differences in the adoption of the uniform of the madrasa. It has mainly occurred with Azra, who was married right after she completed the Alima course and is a teacher now. She explains that the burqa, as it has been worn with gloves and socks, has made her feel uncomfortable, as she used to feel hot in it. She explains the reason is the high temperature of Telangana. The type of fabric determines whether a person would feel uncomfortable or comfortable in any type of full-length clothing. ³⁹ She also notes the cultural differences in the style of wearing clothes with her other classmates, who are residents of Telangana. They wear loose and long suits in comparison to her shorter ones. She tells me that her madrasa teacher has asked her not to wear a Patiala suit-salwar (suit above knee length and heavily pleated salwar at waist) because the length of the suit is considerably short. Also, there have been cases where no uniform has been adopted. Heena has completed her last three years of Madrasa in Uttar Pradesh, in which she has been studying and also teaching junior classes. She has left her earlier madrasa due to health reasons. She has not been able to join it back due to financial reasons. She recalls rejoicing that there has been no uniform for her because she has been a student and a teacher at the same time. However, this does not mean that she defied the essence of the ideal dress code. The willingness to adhere to dress modestly has reflected their confidence in their body image, as they are vocal, even asking others to dress modestly. ⁴⁰

The practice of dressing modestly is also carried forward after the completion of their madrasa education. Muslim women adopting the burqa have been a status symbol in different cultures, with different meanings assigned to it in different sociocultural milieus. ⁴¹ It is a part of their contextual learning through family, which is further strengthened through the institution of madrasa as the ‘space of the madrasa and the students’ homes’ significantly contribute to her becoming a pious subject, with these institutions having a close relationship with each other. ⁴² This is reflected in the wearing of the burqa and is continued with individual touches added by them. Although the Alimas have not changed much, they all express a liking for wearing a simple black burqa. However, only Zohra indulged in a stylish burqa, as her husband works as a fashion designer abroad. He also sends burqas for her and other clothes; she also wears colourful abayas when she goes for tableeg (devoting time to go out and discuss Islam with others). She explains that wearing a black burqa easily identified her as Muslim, which could be threatening at times during tableeg; hence, she wears colourful burqas when visiting certain public places. Also, Meher, 19 years old, has recently finished a fashion designing course and has done some alterations, like adding embroidered sleeves to her burqa. However, apart from that, no alterations are acceptable to anyone. As Nikhat, 23 years old, who has gone for tableeg with her husband, remarks on colourful burqas,

What does it mean if I wear simple clothes and a fancy abaya above them? It means that I want people to see me. They will think about what a beautiful burqa she is wearing and how beautiful would she be from inside the burqa. The burqas that are in trend are not burqas for me.

This shows that they actively decide who would get to see their ‘beauty’, and they redefine the meaning of burqa to express simplicity and reiterate the concept of haya (sense of modesty). Their decision reflects their agency in deciding the type of burqa and keeping it different from the general population, which wears fancy or colourful burqa. In light of Mahmood’s work regarding agency and modesty, this reflects this awareness and pride in the continued practice of deciding their type of burqa.

It is important to note here that Alimas did not feel purdah to be an impediment or a barrier in their life; rather, it has been worn with precise calculation. The ideological clarity on wearing the burqa has been formulated in the madrasa. For all Alimas, the burqa is not a means or a form of restriction; instead, it is felt as an enhancer of their mobility. The respondents have given varied experiences of wearing it. As Meher says,

It feels perfect wearing a burqa. It feels like we can see around, and no one can see us. We can do whatever we like. There is no barrier to our movement. One also checks their clothes regularly when not wearing a burqa. Are they stained, torn or something? We have no such worry.

Apart from feeling comfortable, Meher also points towards the reassurance that her parents get with her adorning the burqa as she says that they know that she would not undertake ‘any wrong step’. By ‘wrong step’, she means ‘contacts with non-mahram men including sexual indulgence’. According to her, wearing a burqa adds to her mobility with a changed perception of people around her regarding any chance of misconduct. She establishes a link between piousness and wearing modest clothes in her case. For her, any possible objection to the conduct and movement from family, people in the neighbourhood, or relatives is toned down with her adhering to the cultural norms of purdah. Thus, respondents believe that wearing a burqa adds free flow to their mobility along with establishing their religious and moral grounding in their society.

Adorning the Body: Beyond the Burqa

The body image ideal that Alimas have adopted after madrasa education includes veiling, which includes abaya, hijab and niqab (nose piece), sometimes worn with gloves and socks. The body inside the veil is decorated according to cultural practices as developed in an amalgamation of madrasa life and macrosystems like media and fashion trends. However, concern with modesty and decency is ‘negotiated within desires for fashion’. ⁴³ Body image construction and performance mirror the blend of social creations and individualised negotiations of gendered behaviour. The bodies of women are ‘not bodies of society but rather bodies about society’. ⁴⁴ The understanding of the self and one’s body image are associated with one’s religion, caste and class identities. The body is both an ‘individual creation’ and a ‘cultural product’. ⁴⁵ The choice of clothing and makeup is influenced by the respondent’s husbands, women, friends, sisters and their own preferences and likes. For the dresses worn inside the abayas, which are not under the gaze of non-mahram men, a lot of thinking and decision-making goes behind wearing them, including the influence of media and fashion trends. For Azra and Nikhat, their clothing choices depend upon their husbands’ likes. Meher, who has been wearing ‘Up Down’ upper garment paired with dhoti salwar, when I met her, designs and stitches her own clothes. She also checks out designs on YouTube. Zohra stays in touch with modest fashion-related information disseminated through her husband, as he also sends her clothes of the latest design. She wears everything, like palazzo, Pakistani suit (long suit below knees with pants like bottoms), anarkali (long frock below calf muscles with tight bottoms), and so on, way before it becomes a common trend in the local vicinity.

However, there is an element of individual negotiation by the Alima in defining what they consider to be in line with deen. It is to wear trending dresses or choose not to wear them for different reasons—one being to distinguish oneself from others by adopting simplicity—second, distinguishing oneself from the style of non-believers, as discussed later in the study. For example, Afreen, who has joined the madrasa owing to the religious pride associated with becoming an Alima, likes ‘simplicity’ and calls herself a ‘simple’ girl. She wears only a simple suit-salwar and wishes to wear it constantly.

Also, dress in India is produced, performed and read through an opposition between the putatively ‘Indian’ and the ‘Western’, but is at the same time powerfully shaped by the opposition between ‘Hindu’ and ‘Muslim’. ⁴⁶ This is also reflected when Heena, 22 years old, expresses her opinion on trending dresses. She says,

I do not wear palazzos. It is alright to wear anarkali, palazzos and an umbrella frock. Even though I would say that they are the clothes of purdah more than a suit, they come under mushabihat (resemblance to non-believers), and they come under fashion. Allah’s prophet has said that those who would follow the mushabihat of ‘others’ would be woken with those on the day of judgement. So, what is the benefit of that, that we acquire their mushabihat and are waking up with them on the day of Judgement.

Here, the ‘other’ refers to a non-believer and their ways of fashioning clothes, including non-Muslim and western dresses, which reveal the body skin or figure. Such clothing is deemed unacceptable and is rejected.

Another crucial social system that defines body image is the class distinction. It has been evident even inside the madrasa, where the choice of clothing has been determined by the rules made by the madrasa administration. In case of her farewell party, Meher explains it. She tells,

At the farewell function, everyone wears a new suit. As it is the last time, everyone thinks to wear their best. There was one girl who had brought a Jubba (long ankle-length robe with full-length sleeves). Maybe her father bought it from Saudi. It was embroidered. She took permission from teachers to wear that, and they allowed her, as it was loose. When other girls got to know, they also got it made or bought a gown, or a dress like a gown, and some got it for ₹5,000 or ₹4,000 or ₹2,000. Some got it from Lajpat Nagar. It became a weird situation, and everyone wanted to wear gowns. Few girls could not contact their families or from whose homes new dresses did not come. They wore a simple new uniform. I wore neither uniform nor gown; I wore an Up and Down suit paired with dhoti salwar. It looked like Jubba from the back and a suit from the front.

The above narrative illustrates how the class is displayed through one’s clothes, even when dressing according to modest fashion. The choices are also adapted to suit the budget of the person. Given the trend of choice, Alimas have expressed themselves and even tried self-fashioning, which suits their idea of dressing up.

Also, as opposed to the madrasa trying to inculcate ‘sartorial modesty and discouragement of jewellery’, students devise ways to ‘project their individuality’, like wearing jewellery after getting married and justifying it as abiding by their husbands’ wishes. ⁴⁷ Similar findings have been found in the present study. Azra, 20 years old, also likes to wear jewellery. She has also worn many pieces of gold jewellery during the interaction with the researcher at the time of data collection. In terms of makeup, its usage is acceptable after marriage, as Azra has learned to do makeup with her sister-in-law after the wedding as her husband likes makeup. Meher has learnt makeup, tries it whenever she feels like and says she would do it if her husband would like it after marriage. Zohra is most explicit in her desire to do makeup. She said, ‘It is not like I do makeup only in front of my husband. I do makeup when I go to weddings and visit my sisters, mother or friends. I am ready within purdah; I remove it when I am among women’. She also explains the problems that she encounters when it comes to hairstyling within hijab, as she says laughingly,

One cannot identify hairstyles under head cover. If there is a wedding at home where there are only ladies, then I have to think a lot about choosing a hairstyle because in a hijab hair gets flat. I have to think a lot about what to do with my hair then. Whatever happens, I try to adjust them, like going into a washroom and opening hairs or making a bun. Recently when my sister got married. I went to the parlour also. I get my eyebrows plucked and my upper lips waxed in the parlour. In my sister’s marriage, I went back in the car with the chador from the beauty salon.

Her wearing a chador instead of a hijab reflects that she wanted to keep her hairstyle intact as a chador is loosely wrapped in comparison with a hijab which is tightly wrapped around the head.

Seeking Perfection and Approval for Self

The making of the self is sought through body image practice. The societal influence guides the likes/dislikes, satisfaction/dissatisfaction around body weight, skin colour, and height, deeming the acceptable vs. the non-acceptable. For Muslim women, strengthened religious faith is inversely related to ‘body dissatisfaction and body self-objectification, mediated by the use of modest clothing’. ⁴⁸ The religiosity and practice of purdah of Alimas have also made them self-assured and confident. ⁴⁹ As expressed by the respondents, they are self-satisfied with their bodies. As Heena says, referring to her body image, ‘I am happy the way it is with Allah’s grace. It feels like that because whatever Allah has made is good’. Meher says, ‘I feel that whatever Allah has made in our body is according to us’.

There is social pressure to have ‘skin fairness’, as dark skin is considered to be the coloniser’s manifestation of inferiority. ⁵⁰ It is also present among Muslim women, especially for making themselves seem marriageable. ⁵¹ This desire for socially acceptable skin colour or the fairness complex is also present among Alimas. These notions are aroused when a sense of inferiority is induced in Alimas about a lack of something in the body by others. To illustrate, Nikhat, a woman of brownish complexion, has been sympathised with by others. It has been apparent from the comments of her friends from the madrasa. She says, ‘In madrasa, I used to get compliments that I have charm on my face from my group mates and teachers. One friend of mine even now says, “you should not mind your colour. You have charm on your face”’. She also shares how this complex seems heightened to her as she has been married to a fair-skinned man ‘I feel that my husband is fair and I am not. Though he has not said it or expressed it, I think he is fair, and he might have thought about it’. This fairness complex is also shared by Azra, who desires that given an option by Allah, she would choose ‘white skin’. She tells,

First, I would choose normal skin, that is, white skin. My mother had that kind of skin. My skin is oily. Her skin remains soft in winters and summers, and it is ‘white–white’. There should not be a single dot on it. I want that kind of skin.

This complex is invoked in the Alimas, especially when they are mocked or compared to others, compare themselves with others, or the notion of a perfect hourglass figure with luscious hair. Negative comments invoke further complexes in the Alima, as Zohra wants more hair and complains that she has faced hair fall after childbirth. She says, ‘Apart from the thinness of my hairs, I feel that I am fine how Allah has made me. Because nobody has ever said to me that I lack this or that’. This complex is heightened to such an extent that Zohra did not let the researcher see her hair and has been covering her hair even inside her home.

Another critical component of body image is body weight. Winkelmann has also discussed how husbands preferring slender women put pressure on an Alima to lose weight and made her feel ‘miserable’. ⁵² However, being ridiculed for being too slim can also bring social mockery. Meher has also faced negative comments on her body weight, which are reflected in her loss of confidence regarding her weight. She explains, ‘I have been mocked in madrasa for being lean and thin. They used to say, eat something, you are like a thin skeleton, and you do not eat anything’. Apart from weight, she also expressed her desire to be taller.

The acceptable vs. the non-acceptable is clearly known and followed accordingly by the Alimas concerning their bodily comportment. Zohra illustrates this when she fails to recall any incident of her being negatively commented upon by other Alimas. She says it as a matter of fact, ‘no. I have never worn such outrageous clothes’. Henna says, ‘I feel like living in such a way that no one can raise objections on me. So that nobody can say, how does she appear like a crazy person at home’. This shows that the desire for social approval of one’s sense of dressing is strong. Thus, it becomes clear that the inculcation of modesty in Madrasa for Alimas has defined what is acceptable in adorning their body and its associated behaviour. Associated with it is the acceptability of wearing a head cover, celebrated with compliments. As Zohra recalled her madrasa days, ‘earlier, I used to go in suits to classes, but when the first time I tried hijab, I got many compliments that I was looking gorgeous’. The compliments are also extended to cosmetics as Zohra continued, ‘if sometimes I had applied Kajal or Lipstick then I also used to get compliments’.