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I really wanted to talk about this, though it is a very mainstream topic.

So, do clothes define our ambiance? Do clothes represent one’s psyche? Why is our society judging a person on the basis of clothing?

Okay, let me mention clearly that I am not being biased, I am not criticizing my country but since I am a Pakistani citizen, I need to talk about this right away. So basically, I’ve been noticing lately that the people here are literally not ready to accept women’s apparel at all. They are constantly picking out faults in everything, they are making it tough for the women to survive in this society.

Why don’t we behave like civilized people and mind our own business? Why do we interfere so much into one another’s lifestyle? If we are brought up this way, our family accepts the way we dress then why can’t the society be a bit less judgmental?

Things are going too far now, do we specifically have to wear an eastern outfit to look graceful? Let me mention some categories of the people around us. So, the other, day this aunty was confidently saying in a gathering that”meri beti ko tou mai kabhi jeans nahen pehnne deti, aj kal ki larkio ko tou par lg gye hain,na koi sharam hai, na haya” and this aunty’s daughter wears eastern outfits which are tight and revealing but who cares?

It’s an eastern outfit so it has to be decent. Are we shameless if we don’t wish to adopt our culture? No, we are not shameless, it’s the sight of the people around us who want us to feel insecure.

Then there are these guys who look for girlfriends that wear western outfits, why? Because they try to showoff them to the world and because they think they look “cool AF” with modern girls but when comes the time to marry, they choose a girl who’s more into eastern clothes than the girl who wears western clothes, might have a better character, might have a pure heart, I can’t deal with such guys who have double standards. Do you fall in love with one’s soul or with their garments?

Then comes the category of people, if they see women wearing an abaya, they will harass her too ,they’ll come up with the worst comments; “lagta ha ye kisi ghalat kaam k lye ja rhe hai islye apne apko itna chupa rhe hai”,”zarur ye kisi se milne ja rhe hai abaya k neche pta nahen kia pehna hoga” I honestly feel sorry for people with such narrow minds, they are mentally frustrated that they can’t even tolerate a woman who’s totally covered, they feel satisfied when they let them down.

Now, let me talk about some of the institutions here, they’ve set up a dress code for women and that dress code is literally so pathetic “dupatta kaha hai? tights kyun pehni hai? jeans kyu pehni hai? shirt kyu short hai?”  They have so much time that instead of paying attention to make their education level better, they find faults in clothes and unnecessary things and at times even if you are wearing decent clothes just because you aren’t wearing a “dupatta” you’ll get fined. Now this is a smart way of earning.

Then, they talk about how good their institute is, well… if we talk about the well-known institutes, they don’t care about what one is wearing in fact, they don’t even have time to bother and gossip about things like clothes. They are occupied in making their education system better and that’s how they obtain their standard.

The question arises that why is a women’s clothing so highlighted? Why are people judging her character and targeting her self-esteem on the basis of clothes? We are a part of the global village then why does our mindset appear to be so different than the rest? Why do we call ourselves educated when we don’t have the knowledge of seeing the world from each and everyone’s angle?

Now, I know there will be people who will come up with the Islamic teachings and claim that our country is trying to make women aware of the Islamic rules and regulations, but wait, does that mean you’ll start finding faults in the right things too? I haven’t enlightened on the Islamic teachings, my focus does not involve any religion, race, and custom.

So my message to all the people out there is that clothes aren’t the identity. Clothes don’t have an emphasis on one’s character. Accept one another the way they are and make your life easier.

My article is based on my personal perception.  You all might have one too since we all have a different mindset and I have the freedom of expression to let my voice reach you. In order to move along with the world, you need to accept more and condemn less.