SL woman MP asked to leave Parliament for violating dress code

by Suranee | June 12, 2009 at 07:57 pm
632 views | 12 Recommendations | 6 comments

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Saree

Saree

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A Sri lankan woman MP belonging to a Tamil political party was asked to leave parliament for violating the parliamentary dress code.

Instead of the saree, the MP from Eastern Batticaloa dressed in a salwar kameez.


Colombo, 12 June: A woman MP of a Tamil political party was asked to leave the Sri Lankan Parliament for violating the parliamentary dress code by coming to the House dressed in a salwar kameez.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP from Eastern Batticaloa Ms Thangeswary Kathiraman was ordered to leave the House yesterday after she was seen dressed in a salwar kameez. According to Sri Lankan Parliamentary dress code, women MPs have to wear saree while inside the Chamber of the House. 


Ten years ago, the Deputy Women's Affairs Minister Nirupama Rajapakse said "I wonder whether any woman is bold enough to change the dress and get to parliament."

It seems that Ms Thangeswary Kathiraman was.

According to the rules, in parliament all female MPs must wear saris.

Deputy Women's Affairs Minister Nirupama Rajapakse says any change would be seen as an attack on the culture. "I wonder whether any woman is bold enough to change the dress and get to parliament," she says.

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1
Babel-Fish

Wow, Maggy Thatcher would been hitting people with her hand bag if we had such a silly stupid moronic rule in the House of Commons.

0
Suranee

Women should be able to wear what they feel comfortable in Babel-Fish. It's just wrong to send her out of Parliament for wearing what she wanted to. The national dress for men here in Sri Lanka is the white sarong and a white long sleeved shirt. The male MP's in the Sri lanka parliament wear that but there are a few like Mr. Ravi Karunayake who wears the three piece suit. So I don't see why they would allow the men to wear two different varieties of clothing in parliament and make a fuss over a woman MP wearing a salwar kameez instead of the saree.

1
Amy Judd

What is a salwar kameez? I'm not familiar with that.

0
Suranee

A salwar kameez covers the whole body. It consists of a top with long sleeves and a pair of pants, sometimes baggy and sometimes not so baggy. A shawl is also draped over the shoulder.

The following excerpt gives a description of what a salwar kameez is.

Salwars are gathered at the waist and held up by a drawstring or an elastic belt. The pants can be wide and baggy, or they can be quite narrow and made of fabric cut on the bias. In the latter case, they are known as churidars. The kameez is usually cut straight and flat; older kameez use traditional cuts, as shown in the illustration; modern kameez are more likely to have European-inspired set-in sleeves. The tailor's taste and skill are usually displayed not in the overall cut, but in the shape of the neckline and the decoration of the kameez.

When women wear the salwar kameez, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the chador or burqa (see hijab and purdah). For Sikh and Hindu women (especially those from northern India, where the salwar kameez is most popular), the dupatta is useful when the head must be covered, as in a Gurdwara or a Temple, or the presence of elders. For other women, the dupatta is simply a stylish accessory that can be worn over one shoulder or draped around the chest and over both shoulders.


1
Amy Judd

Thank you - that helps!

0
Suranee

You are welcome.

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First Flagged at 8:14 PM, Jun 12, 2009 by Babel-Fish
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