Bushra’s Burqa is Her Burqa, None of Your Burqa, Say Pakistanis

Bushra Khan, Pakistan’s First Lady, was criticised and appreciated simultaneously for her sartorial sense.

Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan’s third wife Bushra Khan’s choice of clothes has generated a lot of interest on social media.

Women are either criticised for wearing too much or too little. Here’s how the banter panned out:

Her Burqa is Her Decision, None of Your Political Playground

Bushra Maneka's burqa should seriously be the least of our concerns. pic.twitter.com/9M8XCEvFLF

— Nida Kirmani (@nidkirm) August 18, 2018

#NabeelShares When #Bushra Bibi wears an abaya, you have a problem with that, when #Jemima wore western dresses, you had a problem. The problem is not in them, it's in your minds. Get a life losers. #NayaPakistan #ImranKhan

— Nabeel Naved (@nabeelnaved) August 19, 2018

Everyone seems to be threatened by a woman in a veil. Her sense of self worth determined by whats in her head vs how much skin she's showing. Ppl r desperately trying to objectify her EYES and HANDS. Imagine. Imagine the fear.
#Bushra Bibi

— Haya H. Rizvi (@hayahriz) August 18, 2018

The only visible part of #Bushra Bibi was her hands & eyes and ironically her kajal and nail polish still became the target of a crusade. Where are the liberals & feminists and why are they not rushing to her defence the way they did with Mahira?

— Haya H. Rizvi (@hayahriz) August 18, 2018

Bushra’s Sartorial Sense Depicting a ‘Purana’ Pakistan?

My gmother grew up taking a niqab; she said she only felt alive the day she took it off. She sold her ancestral lands to educate her daughters, sold her jewelery to send me abroad at 18 so none of us wud live the life she lives: Donot glamorize a walking prison like #BushraKhan

— Sephora (@seraphina444) June 15, 2018

She has every right to wear what she wants but as the wife of Pakistan’s leader, she represents all Pakistani women.

When the international community sees Pakistan as a regressive state that oppresses women, this is not the greatest representation of Pakistani women. pic.twitter.com/3k1XxRRmnS

— Sameera Khan (@SameeraKhan) August 18, 2018

Some of us cover to protect our bodies some of us cover to protect our souls in both cases, respect their choices. #Bushra #BiBi #NayaPakistan #PrimeMinisterIK

— umar zaib afridi (@umarzaibafridi) August 19, 2018

Unfortunately, every aspect of a woman’s life, or her choice, is usually up for criticism. Her side of the story rarely matters, but the upholders of morality are quick to pass judgments on her decisions.

Why does Imran Khan’s politics have to be determined by what his wife chooses to wear? According to reports, Bushra Khan has been wearing the burqa even before she married Imran Khan. If the decision to wear a burqa is not stemming from a forced, patriarchal imposition, then the chorus against it ends up becoming another unwarranted policing of women’s clothes.

The burqa can be a political statement but it's clear that Bushra doesn't intend to step into the public eye. She wishes to remain a private individual. Is it then just another case of mainstream discourse needlessly focusing on female attire?