Kozhikode: The ‘Khadi Purdah’ launched by the Khadi and Village Industries Board has evoked protests from women activists who say that it is against Gandhiji’s ideals. They have quoted Gandhiji, who had expressed his dissent in Young India over the concept of purdah among Hindus as well as Muslims. ‘Nisa,’ a collective of women here, will hand over their complaint to Khadi Sarvodaya Sangham on Friday. “Over the past years, purdah had been a tool to suppress women and silence them, restricting their movement in society.
Gandhiji was against the concept of compelling such outfits under the guise of protecting the chastity of women. Then how can the Khadi and Village Industries Board promote purdah under marketing or business pressure?” asks Nisa president V.P. Zuhra. However, the khadi board defended the new marketing technique and said that they were not aware of such a sale until this newspaper made queries. “We were not aware of the sale of purdah from the khadi outlets of Kozhikode. They are being handled by Savodaya Sangham in the locality as an independent body, not directly under my control,” said said Mr I. Jawahar, director, marketing at Khadi and Village Industries Board.
