Chador or Char Diwari An Analysis of the Veil and the Veiled in and through Indian Literature

By : Richa Chilana

Page No: 219-225

Abstract
This paper tries to unveil the veil by looking at fictional representations of veiled women. It argues how the veil signifies a myriad set of meanings, how it is not just a piece of cloth but an ideology. The paper tries to address Hanna Papanek’s notion of separate spaces and symbolic shelter by looking at the architectural division of space and the donning of the burqa. By analysing Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag, Rasheed Jahan’s short stories and Ismat Chughtai’s memoir, it attempts to problematise the notions of choice, agency, the public/ private binary etc. By borrowing the theoretical tools of Saba Mehmood, it argues how agency is not synonymous with resistance. Agency can also be looked at in the way one inhabits conventions. It also addresses the relationship between religion and purdah by arguing how purdah is a customary practice.

Author :
Richa Chilana : Assistant Professor, Maitreyi College, Delhi University.