http://www.theage.com.au/world/muslim-brides-defy-modesty-for-better-or-worse-20110402-1cslk.html
Muslim brides defy modesty for better or worse
April 3, 2011
Means 'I love you': Kabul groom Qais Habibi awaits the primping and preening of his bride at a beauty salon. Photo: Getty Images
Despite resistance from women, the Afghan government plans to stamp out lavish displays of flesh.
THERE is an awful lot of flesh on display at Qasre Aros in central Kabul. Arms and shoulders are free to the elements, while necklines plunge daringly low on garish ballgowns made of every shade of synthetic material imaginable and encrusted with fake jewels.
Though the skin may be the orangey plastic of the dozens of mannequins lining the walls, the dresses are worn every night by real Afghan brides.
But the days when brides-to-be flock to the shops of central Kabul's Shar-e-Now Park may be numbered. Conservative members of President Hamid Karzai's government are pushing for far-reaching restrictions on weddings the likes of which have not been seen since the Taliban regime.
Under a new law proposed by the Justice Ministry and soon to be considered by cabinet, ''garments contrary to Islamic sharia'' will be banned. Those dealing in ''outfits that are semi-naked, naked, transparent, or tight in a way that reveals part of the woman's body'' will be fined and, if they persist, closed down.
When plans to regulate Afghanistan's booming wedding industry were announced earlier this year, the government said it merely wanted to curb the mania for lavish weddings that drag people into serious debt.
But according to drafts of the law, the government is aiming to introduce various public morality provisions in yet another sign of the erosion of small freedoms that women have won since 2001.
And in an echo of the Taliban regime, which used to police weddings to ensure they complied with hardline rulings, including a ban on music, the government intends to set up ''committees'' to monitor weddings.
The groups, which will include representatives of the Religious Affairs Ministry, will be expected to patrol ceremonies held in the garish wedding halls on the edge of Kabul that light up the night sky with their elaborate neon facades.
Among their duties will be ensuring that male and female guests do not mix in the same rooms - already a standard practice in most Afghan weddings - and that the bride is modestly attired.
Muhiuddin Alizada, the owner of Qasre Aros, said: ''This is pointless because the mullahs will not be happy unless the women are wearing burqas. It is all because of pressure from the Taliban.''
Human rights activists are aghast. ''A number of experts who have looked at the draft law are of the view that it interferes with private family life and could well be inconsistent with sharia principles and the constitution,'' said Georgette Gagnon, the UN director of human rights in Afghanistan.
Other shopkeepers were more understanding, even though none had stock that was ''sharia compliant''. ''We are Muslims and women should dress modestly,'' said Muhammad Shah, whose shop is full of bright dresses. that look all the more lurid under the hot-pink fluorescent bulbs of the shop. But moments later he concluded there was no way such a law could be enforced. ''Gambling is haram (forbidden) but the government can't even stop that,'' said Mr Shah.
Sadia, a 26-year-old who got married last week, was outraged that the government might try to stop her wearing the white, bare-shouldered glittery creation she chose for her wedding.
''When I'm wearing this dress, I feel very beautiful. Why shouldn't I wear it?'' she said during a four-hour session in a beauty parlour on the morning of her wedding.
''If I don't wear it, people will think I have a very bad husband who says I cannot wear these things. This is a day I will remember all my life and every girl is hoping to wear these clothes.''
GUARDIAN
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