International Chadar Orh Tehreek

By Ibne Saif

Chadar Orh Tehreek is actually an initiative which has been taken to raise the flag of
Islamic women in this world of uncertainty. The place where every day many women
are humiliated and maltreated on the name of physical violence, authority, customs,
prevailing norms and many other. Islam is the religion of peace, love and tranquility.
Islam has elevated the stature of women by bringing her from market to the four walls of
house, by making her the queen of house and by awarding all the fundamental rights to
her at the ti me when her presence was not even recognized and noticed. Without any
doubt, the status of women in Islam is that of a beloved equal. In the midst of a deeply
sexist historical context, the حضرت محمد رسول اللہ خاتم النٗبینﷺ preached
boldly on the importance of women; celebrating their unique contributions to family and
society, condemning the ill-treatment of women and campaigning for their rights.

The Chadar Orh Tehreek is factually a chain which connects all Muslim women to the
very ideological concept of women in veil. Hazrat Pir Syed Kabir Ali Shah Gillani from
Chura Shareef is the one who raised the flag of this tehreek/movement. There arise a
question as why the establishment of this movement was needed? On 5th Muharram
1427 AH, a disturbing and heart rending new reasoned to take this initiative; where the
values ​​of Islam were ridiculed and humiliation of the religion of the Holy Prophet حضرت
محمد رسول اللہ خاتم النٗبینﷺ was the headline by promoting obscenity, nudity
and indecency in women. This incident motivates him to disseminate awareness by
doing and implementing something tangible and to give the message to the whole world
that the women are to be honored and respected by being under the protection of
Chadar. For this, he highlighted this issue on societal and political forums. And there a
conference was organized on 10 th Moharram named “Chadar Orh Tehreek” which has
enveloped the whole Punjab and Sindh and the spirituality of the very preaching of
Islam was glorified.

Hazrat Pir Syed Kabir Ali Shah Gillani held this conference purely for women and a big
number of women including girls have attended it. They have given the message that
how much it is significant for them to wear the veil. When a Muslim woman wears a
hijab she is obeying and submitting to Allah. The following verse of the Holy Quran
refers to the obligatory nature of hijab: “And tell the believing women to reduce (some)
of their vision and guard their private parts and not to expose their adornment except
that which (necessarily) appears thereof and to wrap (a portion of) their head
covers……….And to turn to Allah in repentance, all of you. O believers that you might
succeed. “[Quran, 24:31]

This conference made all the women aware of the importance of wearing a Chadar and
hijab. All the women were distributed with Chadars as a memorial and souvenir to keep
them conscious of the significance of wearing it. This revolutionary movement is a
revival and it is like a hard blow on the hailing foreign civilization which is rapidly rotting
the sanctity of Muslim women.

International Chadar Orh Tehreek has been working efficiently in many parts of the
world including Pakistan where more than 16 lac women have been provided by the
Chadars with a vow to be committed to it till death by observing Shara’e Parda. This
tehreek is a motivation for the society and an awakening call to cleanse the impurities
by eradicating obscenity and vulgarity. A woman who wears hijab liberates herself from
the vain and selfish desire to show off her beauty and to compete with other women
around her.

The conference aims that an innate desire that is exacerbated by wanton display and
tamed by modesty and covering. With the hijab, a woman does not have to live up to
society’s expectations of what is desirable, and she no longer has to use her beauty to
obtain recognition or acceptance from those around her. Allah Almighty says that “That
is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused.” Thus, one of the functions
of hijab is to protect women from abuse and harm. This particularly includes various
forms of sexual abuse and harassment, which are prevalent in societies in which few
women cover. The hijab, on the contrary, sends a signal to men that the wearer is a
modest and chaste woman who should not be annoyed.