Most people who read this blog are going to know this already, but I’m a
big nerd. I collect comics and last year, got up on Saturday mornings to watch
DVR’d episodes of the Clone Wars with
coffee while texting my brother-in-law making predictions about Ahsoka’s end.
Yeah, that happened, a lot. When I was young, I would watch the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles before
going to kindergarten in the morning. The character April shaped a large
portion of my life even down to what I went to college to study. I love a good
superhero story. I can’t help it. As an adult, I get to wrestle with the themes
behind these stories (often arguing about the representation/lack of
representation of women, genders, races, and classes).
I bring this up because there is some controversy brewing over the new
cartoon superhero coming out of Pakistan, The
Burka Avenger. The main character is Jiya, a female teacher with martial
arts skills who hides her identity with a burka to fight the big bad who wants
to close the girls’ school where she teaches. She is armed with pencils and
books. *mind blown* Take a minute and think about the ramifications of those as
weapons, and the saying “the pen is mightier than the sword” in a place where
12% of girls are literate. Additionally, the major theme of the
cartoon is so “send a moral message to children about the importance of
education and not discriminating against others.” The first thirteen episodes
aired on Geo Tex on July 28, 2013.
Obviously, the show has good timing. Malala Yousafzai, 16, was shot in
the head during an assassination attempt by the Taliban on October 9, 2012.
Yousafzai is an outspoken advocate for women and girls’ rights and education,
and she has become a symbol for women and girls struggle to overcome repression
(speaking of kick-ass heroes).
The creator of the show, Haroon (and pop star) was asked about the burka,
and this was his response, “It’s not a sign of oppression. She is using the
burka to hide her identity like other superheroes. Since she is a woman, we could
have dressed her up like Catwoman or Wonder Woman, but that probably wouldn’t
have working in Pakistan.”
The man knows the first rule of creating: know your audience. But back to
the controversy. Some are not pleased the hero will be wearing a burka. Human
rights activist Marvi Sirmid told the BBC, “How can
you get power from a symbol that humiliates and demeans women’s power? Walking
around in a burka is like a walking prison—projecting a symbol that is so
closely associated with the submission of women. And you are now re-imagining
the burka—the symbol of suppression—as a symbol of resistance. I don’t agree
with that.”
A couple things. One, I don’t make decisions about what other people wear
as long as there isn’t hate speech on it. Secondly, I’m a white woman atheist,
and we have our own battles with sexism and atheism in addition to the issues women in the
US face with the restricting of women’s rights. So maybe using the standard in the West isn't the best thing. Feminists
and
human rights activists are split on the burka and Hijab. I stand on the
side that women can choose what they want to wear (so France and the Taliban
need to back the fuck off).
I have a few thoughts on this controversy outside of the burka and Hijab
debates. But first some history on Muslim women superheroes. Dust. That is all.
She is awesome, and appeared for the first time in New X-men in 2002. She is
credited with being one of the first positive representations of Muslims in
comics. The character originated from Afghanistan, and she wears the Hijab by
choice, which is controversial in the comics. Also, other characters mistakenly
call it a burka, and are constantly being corrected. They're ignorance is used as a tool to enlighten the reader about Afghan culture. There are of course issues
with the character, like all characters. Marvel also created Dr. Faiza Hussain, a
British Muslim decent from Pakistani parents. She showed up in 2008 (remember
some of the issues Britain and Europe are having with immigrants and immigrant
communities, it is hard not to think of Dr. Hussain as a response to that
racism). Dr. Hussain was created by employing a panel of Muslim women, because
that’s how you create an authentic character. Also, while I don’t read Excalibur it is my understanding that in
a different timeline, Dr. Hussain is Captain Britain. That a minute. A Muslim
woman is the British version of Captain America. Take another minute. This isn’t a comprehensive
list by any means, just the two characters that jump out at me.
Activist Marvi Sirmid sees to be employing “the master’s tools” theory. Read
bell hooks, then panic, read it again, and then organize. That is just good
life advice. I go both ways on this theory. In some situations I completely agree,
for example the Occupy Movement struck me as casting off the masters’ tools and
developing some new ones. And aspects of it were very effective. However, women
and people of color got the vote, and they did so through traditional protests,
and then they used the vote to change things (a long road where we’re obviously
losing ground, which perhaps proves we need to cast off the master's tools. There is room for a long discussion here. Buy me a drink, and I'll yell about it in a bar.). Personally, my approach has always been whatever works. It should also be noted that the cartoon is a creative work and not reality, which means some standards and conventions have to be taken into account.
This whole conversation makes me think of three things: oppressive
symbols being employed by the resistance, resistance through creation, and the
responsibility of art to be subversive. I’m not going too deep into all this.
But art is frequently the way for people with limited power to subvert those
with the power (all the literature out of apartheid in South Africa see J.M.
Coetzee). An example that brings this together that everyone is going to know is
Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. Hester is
forced to wear the red A, and overtime she finds herself with more power after
being ostracized from the group. Simplistic, I agree. We can get deep into the
themes if you want, but I’d have to dig up some old papers. Additionally, later
incarnations of Hester (The Handmaid’s
Tale and When She Woke) employ
asserting one’s power by taking ownership of the oppressive symbol subverting
the intent of those doing the oppressing. Specifically, in all three cases embracing the "red" brand and employing it to your advantage (even in the short-term).
It is actually fairly common in
literature to embrace the imagery of the oppressor to subvert the oppression,
even seen in children and young adult literature (The Hunger Games: the mockingjy,
Harry Potter: Harry’s scar, all things muggle, Weasley is our King badges, and of course SPEW and Dobby, etc). In these later examples, the
embracing of the symbols becomes a mockery of the powerful, for example the muggle
items and behaviors in the stories are viewed as primitive and silly, but it is
these items and ideas facilitate the resistance. Hermoine's ability to bring others around to seeing house elves as people and subsequently all cognitive beings are worthy of respect and defense arguably move Harry and co. on the hero's journey, which really comes into focus while the Ministry of Magic is rounding up, imprisoning, and torturing muggle-born people. It should be noted that of
course not all the attempts to subvert oppressive symbols are effective.
Finally, The Burka Avenger begs
the question will Jiya’s mask (costume) hold her back as it has traditionally
for other superheroes? Spiderman and Batman need and hate the masks they wear,
which causes a lot of problems for both. Notably, in the Civil War Spiderman unmasks himself after a pretty convoluted storyline. Mask => burden. The mask becomes as oppressive as
having everyone know who you are. Ironman and the X-men (mostly) don’t wear
masks and are public targets as are their loved one's (Aunt May). The casualties of secret identities. This conversation, where the burka is simultaneously empowering and oppressive could be interesting, if the show chooses that direction.
Below is a clip from the cartoon. .
