The Rida Conundrum

By: Modern Bhen
February 10th 2014

The official dress of Dawoodi Bhori women is the "rida." It's a colorful adaptation of the Muslim burkha comprising a two piece cover-all that consists of a full length skirt and a "pardi" -- which can only be described as a hooded poncho (as pictured below). Unlike the burkha, which originated from the Middle East, the rida's roots are in India, which hosts the largest population of the Dawoodi bhora community. Accordingly, the rida adopts much of the pizzazz that Indian fashion is known for.

 

Now, while many women are comfortable wearing a rida full-time, for other of us bhora women, when we open our closets every morning with our ritualistic cups of chai, a rida just isn't the most appealing item in our wardrobes. 

The reason why? It's not, as some might imagine, due to feminist inclinations or political affiliations. It boils down to something much simpler and less sophisticated. Vanity and convenience.

Three key problems come to mind with the modern day rida; fitting, patterns, and practicality.

1. Fitting

Besides fulfilling it's ultimate purpose -- modesty -- the rida does little else for you. It is shockingly unflattering. While some might argue that vanity has no place in the heart of a modest woman, I beg to disagree. God gave us assets to protect, not disfigure with ill-fitting garments!

The inherent conundrum facing the rida is that its very foundation is reminiscent of a giant floral print cupcake. Once that premise was set, it's been very difficult to move away from it. There just really isn't anyway to make a rida figure-flattering. Attempts have been made, mostly resulting in marginal improvements at best. 

• Darted skirts   A for effort ladies! I commend the attempt at narrowing the skirt, and I think we'll all agree that this is a step in the right direction. But ultimately, it's not a huge improvement. The problem is, this style has only been adopted by the Misaqi age group, blossoming young bohri women just recently sworn in. The rest of us are left enviously staring at their waists when they walk by us as we sit on our masulla's. And let's be honest, it's probably a good thing this style is limited to a particular age group. I don't know how many of us really want to see our masjid's resident 230lb Kulsum Aunty rocking this look.
•  Mermaid skirts   Huge mistake. While I don't disapprove of mermaid skirts as a concept, they just don't work when you pair it with a umbrella-like pardi, leaving you looking like you might topple over next time someone rushing to get 'jagaa' barrels by you.
• The Slit   These risque designs have a slit running up one side of the rida, with a contrasting fabric sewn beneath it to add both color and shock-factor. I appreciate the attempt at raciness behind this concept, but when all's said and done, it really doesn't tackle the larger issues facing the rida, which is the rida.

2. Three-Dimensional Flower Patterns

Okay, this is something that can be overcome as easily as selecting a different pattern, but it's very existence continues to gnaw at my soul. I think other rida-wearers will agree, this is a prevalent enough issue that it warrants discussion. You know you have one of these suckers hiding at the bottom of your rida potka. 

What I am referring to is the fashion of embroidering large, completely unnecessary three dimensional flowers on the skirt of the rida.  I myself own a particularly hideous version of this, a lemon yellow skirt with gold patterning, and green tissue ruched into elaborate flowers falling out of a life-sized basket over my shins.  

This persistent fashion faux-pas is unfortunately grandfathered into rida fashion from its first origination in the 1980s. For almost four decades, bhori aunties have been exerting their creativity by producing increasingly horrific versions of this pattern. To these women, I have one piece of advice... fashion just isn't your forte. Accept this and redirect your efforts to more proven ventures, such as ripping these off of all your ridas.

3. Practicality

Besides the huge fashion set back presented by the rida, there are other more obvious set backs, particularly in colder weather. Unfortunately, when you're trudging through three feet of snow and fighting below freezing weather, there are many impracticalities to wearing a rida. You can always wear boots under your rida, but how do you keep the hem from trailing through the slush? 

The other problem is trying to fit your rida into your coat. If you haven't noticed, there are no arm holes in the pardi, which really only leaves you with two options (demonstrated below). The first option is that you can put your coat on, and then pull the pardi over top of it. You will, however, only add to the cupcake effect that already plagues the rida. The second option is to bunch the entire pardi up around your shoulders, creating an effect similar to that of shoulder padding under a football jersey. Come to momma.

Another major impracticality is that it's difficult not to feel like you're entirely out of context if you're roaming around in a rida outside of a masjid or a mitishitabi. You know what I'm talking about. Ever been on your way to masjid and suddenly realize you need to stop for gas? You get out of the car to fill the tank, trying to look nonchalant, all the while hoping that you don't look as out of place as you feel, and willing the counter on the pump to move faster. Or, waiting for your ride outside of your place, and fearing that your neighbors are wondering why you're dressed as though you're on your way to a Strawberry Shortcake convention.

We've established the fashion faux-pas and the inoperable realities of the modern day rida, you can see why it's not on the short list when it comes to picking out my wardrobe. It is, however, what we have to work with, and that's just not going to change.So, given the realities of this situation, the rida conundrum is a prevalent issue facing our community. I applaud the small strides we have made thus far, but feel that further recognition and feminizing improvements are in order. Dare I suggest sleeves?

Keywords: Bohra Bhora Bhori Bohri progressive dawoodi deen duniya women muslim ismaili shia shi'aa islam