mid-day editorial: Sexist trolls should be given a dressing down

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was at the receiving end of social media bouncers after he put up a picture of his wife Hasin Jahan and baby on social media.

Before he could say howzatt, the pacer felt the fury of trolls who couldn't swallow the fact that Hasin Jahan was wearing a gown. Many slammed him, stating that he was going against Islam and that, as a man, he should be telling his wife to cover herself fully in Islamic clothing. Many stated that she should wear a hijab.

Shami did get support from many Muslims and other communities, including former and present cricketers. Although he rose to his wife's defence and took on the trolls, it is a matter of great shame that in this day and age, a man can get trolled because of the way his wife's dress. The comments about her attire being ‘unIslamic' are totally uncalled for - those who slammed Shami are surely not the arbiters of what is Islamic and what is not. The comments are not only unwarranted but highly sexist. Hasin Jahan should be free to exercise her freedom and choice in what she wants to wear. They point towards her as if she is some kind of property of Shami's. This is yet another attempt to control women, body shame them and attack them as unchaste because of what they choose to wear.

The Islamic dress code is perhaps one of the biggest debates currently, with many Muslim women who do not wear a hijab being told they are unchaste or unIslamic, not worthy of God and the religion. This is a highly misogynistic sentiment, and it is shocking to see so many women too exhorting Hasin Jahan on how to dress modestly. To each his own. Hasin Jahan is a person in her own right, she will dress in the manner she thinks appropriate. That's all there is to it.