"For Myself, Who else?"

“Why do you dress up so much?” “There is too much of kohl around your eyes.” “Does my face look too white?” “Women spend so much time in front of the mirror.” or “Why do women take so much time to dress up?”

A few questions a lot many women would have faced at some point of time. They could either be on the receiving end. Or they could also be the person asking the question. Well obviously the last two would probably be asked by members of the opposite gender.  

I have been asked many at times the first question, and to be on the safer and more ‘self-loving’ side I would answer, “To satisfy myself who else!” However, when I think about it later on I know the answer I should have said was “To create a good first impression to the person in front of me.” How about you ask this question to a young Muslim woman, clad in the traditional black burqa from head to toe? Personally I would say the apt answer for her would be “For myself, who else!”

Obviously it is for her and no one else. Why? Because she doesn’t expose any of her features to create a good first impression to a person who looks at her. A Muslim woman, especially in the Middle East, or should I say West Asia, is expected to adorn herself with the black ‘abhaya’ from top to bottom irrespective of what she is wearing beneath the burqa. It is a custom, and they are expected to follow it.

But any person who has seen a young Arab Muslim woman without the burqa would agree when I say that they are truly beautiful beings. Their eyes are probably the only feature that is allowed to be showed, and how prettily they beautify them. Those thick-kohl filled eyes are truly to die for. And once they remove those black clothes, you would probably feel ashamed with the way you are clad. They would be wearing the best of best clothes, and even if they were wearing normal attire, the way they carry themselves would just make us stare and awe. And their skin is so soft and clean, that you would wish you had the same skin.

But once they wear the abhaya, none of it is seen. So who do they dress up for? For themselves, who else!