Woman shuns the burqa despite death threats
Rayana is unfazed as she has full family support
Kasargode: An aeronautical engineer by qualification and preparing for the civil services exam, a 23-year-old Muslim girl here refuses to wear the burqa and often sports jeans despite constant threats to her life.
Rayana R. Khasi, a resident of Kasargode, 600km from Thiruvananthapuram, has handed over the threat letters she received to the police.
Rayana has the full support of her family. She has had police protection since August 17, thanks to a court order, after increased threats in the last two months.
"Is it not my right to decide what I should wear? I studied in Chennai and now I am preparing for my civil service examinations. It is for convenience that I use jeans and I have covered everything that has to be fully covered," a peeved Rayana said.
She spoke to IANS just after a visit to the local police station to hand over two anonymous letters saying she would be killed if she continued to defy the burqa.
Trouble started after her return from Chennai around this time last year. She was in Chennai for four-and-a-half years to complete her aeronautical engineering course and then stayed on for six more months for civil services exam coaching.
When she came back, first there were polite pleas from her relatives to wear the traditional Muslim attire.
"Then my neighbours started advising me and since then there have had anonymous callers on my mobile telling me they will have no choice but to kill me because I continue to defy the burqa," said Rayana.
"My father is a businessman and when he is short of money, it is my mother who comes to his help by giving her gold ornaments. And that is when she resorts to wearing the burqa so that no one can see that she doesn't have her jewellery!"
