Against Imposition in Jamia

At an engineering college festival in Jamia Millia Islamia University, a fashion show was cancelled after a group of students who believe in haya (modesty) in women claimed that such activities were “against Islamic ethics and cultural ethos of Jamia.” After negotiating with the administration and after a few threats faced by the organising committee, the fashion show was prohibited from taking place. The show was part of the faculty of engineering’s three-day annual festival, Xtacy. The organising committee faced loss of face in front of the participating team members from other colleges of Delhi. The protesting group, which calls itself “Students of Jamia” on Facebook, has been campaigning against these events. They even had a problem with the term “Xtacy,” which they correlate with immorality.

If Jamia has had no problems in such fashion shows taking place and fitting into the ethos and culture (read, tehzeeb) of the university, why did the administration, under pressure from few students, prohibit it from taking place this time around? Instead of looking for haya or shame in clothes, why not inculcate shame in the way we look at women?