Veil on values? Khadi purdah stirs up row

Kozhikode: The  ‘Khadi Purdah’  launched by the Khadi and Village Industries Board  has evoked protests from women activists  who say that it is against  Gandhiji’s ideals.   They  have quoted Gandhiji, who had expressed his dissent  in Young India over the concept of purdah among Hindus as well as Muslims.   ‘Nisa,’ a  collective of  women here,   will  hand over their complaint to Khadi Sarvodaya Sangham on  Friday. “Over the past years, purdah had been a tool to suppress women and silence them, restricting their movement in  society.

Gandhiji was against the concept of compelling such outfits under the guise of protecting the chastity of women. Then  how can  the  Khadi and Village Industries Board  promote purdah under  marketing or business pressure?” asks Nisa president V.P. Zuhra. However,  the khadi board defended the new marketing technique and said that they were not aware of such a sale until this newspaper made queries. “We were not aware of the sale of purdah  from the khadi outlets of Kozhikode. They are being handled by Savodaya Sangham in the locality as an independent body, not directly under my control,” said said Mr I. Jawahar,  director, marketing at Khadi and Village Industries Board.