Re: Parents of daughters: School Uniforms & Modesty
The above would’ve made for a better point and a less tangential thread. The added issue of skirts and swimsuits has people conflating the issue of teaching modesty with the broader point of not sexualizing little girls - i.e. prematurely catapulting children into womanhood and sexual maturity (whether that’s leaving no skin/hair uncovered or channeling a midget Britney Spears. Both extremes have psychological consequences). With regards to the above quote, I agree. With kids already hitting puberty earlier than ever, 3 - 8 year olds shouldn’t have to worry about constantly drawing dupattas over their chests and heads. Besides, if they’re already dressed in shalwar kameez with a little clipped-on stole in observance of the national costume, they can concentrate on their books and play freely during break. Castigating children over exposed strands of hair mars their childhood and has no religious basis.
That said, if the issue concerns Northern/tribal area schools, chadors are the least of your problems if you happen to be a girl child. With already low female percentages of school attendance, if wearing a chador means the patriarchs of your family will allow you to get a basic education before marrying you off in your mid-teens, you take what you can get. Trying to ‘liberate’ women from the chador when they don’t have basic rights to education, health, and life itself inadvertently trivializes bigger injustices.