The Rida and Reform

Sakina Motiwala 

Pune 

The tradition of women covering themselves up entirely when stepping out of the house exists for ages in many communities across the world.

In some communities when stepping out in public places, women need to wear outfits that wouldn’t highlight their physique and cover everything except their hands from the wrist down. Black is a colour that doesn’t reflect and hence, can’t highlight the body shape, even in the desert sun. And hence, it was set to tradition, that women would wear black when going out of their house. 

The textile industry developed other coloured clothes and materials which work similarly to the black outfit. But the burkha tradition remained intact.

For decades women from the Bohra community followed this tradition too. This community is a minority in the Islamic religion and has estimated less than 2 lakh members in India. Today, however, this community is widely recognized for their colourful attires and the different style of burkha that they call a Rida.

The difference between a traditional burkha and a Rida is that the Rida is a two-piece set that consists of a skirt called the Ghaghra and the top half is called the Pardi. This Rida doesn’t cover their faces and comes in a variety of colours and designs, from daily wear to festive wear. 

The senior women in the community say that this isn’t the only reform the community has witnessed. There are very small but significant steps when it comes to the rights of women.