Afsana's skydiving, snowboarding adventures – all wearing a shari
Wearing a shari everywhere and doing everything in it is Afsana’s way of taking a stance for women in Bangladesh and Japan, where she is currently pursuing a PhD
It was a bright sunny day at the Tokyo Skydiving Club where Afsana Begum was gearing up for her skydiving adventure. Although the club typically hosts hundreds of thrill-seekers every week, she had taken them by surprise. She was all set to jump wearing a shari.
"Wear something else. It is risky to wear such attire and jump from a 13,000 feet altitude," said the instructor.
But Afsana decided to dive anyway.
It is not just skydiving – Afsana is comfortable doing many other things while donning a perfectly draped shari. She cycles a few kilometres to attend university, skates confidently along the highway, and even snowboards on an icy surface.
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The freedom to do things her own way gives Afsana a sense of empowerment and individuality while remaining deeply connected to her femininity.
"For much of history, what to wear and when has often been dictated by men, and women have complied. This shows that agents of patriarchy are not always men; many times, they are women who have never felt the urge to fight back. I refuse to be one of them," she told TBS.
Afsana graduated from Dhaka University in 2015, from the Women and Gender Studies department. In 2018, she moved to Japan to work on a research project titled "How Migration Plays a Catalyst to Change Masculinity Construction".
In 2021, she started her PhD programme at Japan's Chiba University.
She said even though it is a first-world country, the gender equality index in Japan is significantly low. In 2023, it ranked 125th out of 146 countries covered by the global gender gap index, placing the country far behind other G7 nations.
"The Japanese society is extremely patriarchal. The pay gap in the country is around 21%. Wearing a shari everywhere and doing everything in it is my way of taking a stance for women of my country and Japan too," she added.
Shari is never a barrier
In Afsana's words, shari for some reason is not associated with women's advancement and is often considered a barrier. As an attire, it is not considered very comfortable.
"I've always been passionate about wearing sharis. During my undergraduate days, I encouraged my female teammates to wear it for presentations. However, they often refused, citing reasons like it was too early in the morning, too hot outside, or raining," she said.
Since the dawn of civilisation in our subcontinent, shari has been the traditional attire for women. Historical evidence suggests that women in the Indus Valley civilisation used to drape a long piece of cloth and perform all their domestic tasks while wearing it.
With time, as taste and preference changed, more women began to choose salwar-kameez and Western wear, especially during the colonial era, and this trend became more prevalent after the Partition.
These days, most women in our country only wear shari for special occasions.
"There is nothing wrong with women wearing what they want to wear, but my point is to break the stigma that wearing shari is a barrier, because it is not. In fact, being unstitched, the fluidity it offers is unparalleled," said Afsana.
"In foreign lands, especially in Japan, Bangladesh is not widely known. When people see someone wearing a shari, they often mistake them for Indians and start conversations to learn more. This has always been my opportunity to proudly talk about my country."
For her, shari makes a powerful statement about who she is and her cultural roots.
"Shari has always been a symbol of power to me. Throughout our history, during all the significant movements in the country, whether it's protests, wars, or nation-building, women have always been seen wearing sharis and participating in them," she further added.
Is there a 'right' way to wear a shari?
Afsana thinks this is a debatable topic.
"What really is the right way to wear a shari and who decides it? Before colonisation, women of the Indian subcontinent wore sharis without blouses or petticoats. According to historical records, the colonial rulers, in the name of sartorial morality, found that format obscene and vulgar and eventually, the colonisation of shari happened. Now that we commonly wear sharis with traditional blouses and petticoats, can we really call it the ideal way?" she asked.
Breaking away from the traditional ways of wearing a shari, Afsana wears it in different styles, suited to various activities. She sees nothing wrong with this approach, although many people often criticise her for deviating from the "original way".
For example, during snowboarding, she wore a shari with a thermal (heated T-shirt) as a blouse and used snowboarding pants instead of a petticoat.
"In a minus-degree temperature, I could not do it any other way. If we want to practise wearing shari as a staple wear, we must embrace the needs of modification."
In fact, during skydiving, she wore the shari in a South Indian style, resembling a dhoti. The free end (anchol) was securely fastened with a belt.
"At first, my instructor strongly advised against wearing a shari during the activity, due to the potential safety risks involved. However, I was determined to wear it. So, we had to modify the way I wore it while still following safety protocols."
