- 9 hours ago
In Pakistan, Karachi Fashion Week provides a kind of sanctuary, but outside its bubble Hailey finds the forces working to eradicate the progressive culture it represents.
This video was originally published by VICE in 2016.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Hailey Gates explores global fashion and issues the industry often ignores, showing us what the world wears, and why.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/
RELATED CONTENT
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https://youtu.be/VtddBzqe-vE
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https://youtu.be/n61y1Fr_lxE
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https://youtu.be/IXZoWsuZYv0
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This video was originally published by VICE in 2016.
ABOUT THE SERIES
Hailey Gates explores global fashion and issues the industry often ignores, showing us what the world wears, and why.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/
RELATED CONTENT
The Cost of Beauty in Venezuela
https://youtu.be/VtddBzqe-vE
The Streets Of The Congo Turned-Fashion Show
https://youtu.be/n61y1Fr_lxE
Fashion Defined By Borders In Palestine
https://youtu.be/IXZoWsuZYv0
SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
Follow Somos on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29somos/
Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/
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LifestyleTranscript
00:04We are literally inches away from each car we pass.
00:08It's very terrifying.
00:14Apparently, this is the entrance to our hotel.
00:16There are lots of guys with guns around.
00:19Eight hours on a flight, and we're in a totally different world.
00:23We have a steel gate.
00:25Whenever there are rallies or riots, we close these gates.
00:28Only one vehicle is allowed through the dog sniffing, then the under-vehicle inspection system.
00:33These are the barriers which are filled with the sandbags that can withstand any blast.
00:37This is the luggage scanning room.
00:39The guest passes through here, then the guest goes through again through the walk-through gate.
00:42Then they're in heaven.
00:43Yeah, then they are in heaven.
00:47Welcome to Pearl Continental Hotel's hotel department.
00:50It gives me immense pleasure to introduce room to my organization.
00:54I have four gates, four watchtowers.
00:58Everything is recorded 24-7.
01:03That's all?
01:04Do you have any questions?
01:05Yeah.
01:06Do you like fashion?
01:08Yes, why not?
01:21We are in the Karachi Pearl Continental Hotel.
01:25The Fashion Week is happening in the hotel, and there are eight restaurants, so there's really no reason to leave.
01:31Our security advisor mentioned that it would be a good idea for us to be on the fourth floor of
01:37the building,
01:39just in case there was some circumstance in which we needed to jump out of our windows.
01:43We are now on the ninth floor, and I have no clue what I'm supposed to wear to Karachi Fashion
01:50Week.
01:51I'm trying to be as respectful as possible.
01:53So I can't tell if this is, like, something that's long enough.
01:58I mean, obviously the arms are not covered, so that's not good.
02:02This has a giant hole in the middle, so that's out.
02:05I guess black is always safe.
02:07It's frustrating to have to think about things like this and not wanting to upset people and make people feel
02:14comfortable and be respectful of their culture.
02:17But at the same time, I'm me. I'm never not going to be me.
02:20I can still think really f***ed up things if I'm wearing something really conservative.
02:25I might be wearing a burqa, but I still masturbate.
02:29Fashion Week in Karachi is fairly new. It started in 2009.
02:34What happens when the red carpet doesn't really roll?
02:38Walking around, it was easy to forget that this Fashion Week was taking place in what was essentially a guarded
02:44bunker,
02:44in the middle of one of the most volatile countries in the world.
02:50Considering show times in a couple hours, I've got a lot of work to do here.
02:53Although the chandeliers are up, so it's a good sign.
02:57In one year alone, 3,000 people were killed in Karachi through terrorism and religious clashes.
03:03Fashion Weeks in the past have also been targeted, but the hotel's security were taking all of the necessary precautions.
03:12I mean, this is massive. This is bigger than many of the fashion shows I've been to in New York.
03:18This room would soon be transformed by the arrival of hundreds of local fashionistas and designers.
03:24Oh, this is exciting. Here's a bar that will undoubtedly serve fruit juice.
03:33Alcohol has been strictly forbidden nationwide for almost 40 years.
03:38Anyone caught drinking by the religious police faces severe punishment under Islamic law.
03:44To find out how things are done here, we headed upstairs to meet Omar Jamil, a publicist for the Fashion
03:50Week and a notorious man about town.
03:58You guys want a drink? Drink, drink, drink. They're bringing glasses.
04:01A real drink?
04:02You'll have a drink.
04:03A real drink?
04:04Oh my god, yes!
04:05Ashu, eight, nine people, three girls, two very beautiful.
04:10I'll translate that afterwards, huh?
04:12So you guys actually having a drink? God, I really feel on the spot.
04:16Okay, but how does it work?
04:18Like what, the alcohol?
04:19Yeah.
04:19Uh, bootleggers.
04:21Wow.
04:21Yeah.
04:22If you're Christian or Hindu or whatever, you can buy alcohol.
04:26So, you know, you can legally buy it.
04:28So what a lot of bootleggers do is they're actually Hindus or Christians or whatever.
04:31Bootleggers are always more expensive.
04:33A bottle of Black Label whiskey costs about 8,000 rupees, which is about 60 pounds.
04:38So it sounds like buying weed.
04:41It's a lot like buying weed, yeah.
04:42In California.
04:43Or drugs, yeah.
04:43It's a lot like that.
04:44It's a lot easier to actually find hashish over here than it is to buy alcohol.
04:49Weirdly enough.
04:50Yeah.
04:51So it's not like it's illegal?
04:53Is it illegal?
04:53Alcohol?
04:54Yeah, absolutely.
04:55I have no idea what the official punishment is, but it's not going to be anything nice.
04:59It's going to be something like being flogged or something.
05:00It's 80 lashes.
05:01There you go, 80 lashes.
05:03Yeah.
05:03But I don't know anybody, anybody, who's been lashed for drinking alcohol, ever.
05:08So when you grow up here in the Pakistani elite, you grow up drinking?
05:13When I was a kid, you could get busted for drinking.
05:16You'd have the cops sort of standing around places where you had parties.
05:19They'd be like, dude, you've been drinking.
05:20And you'd be like, no, man, I've not been drinking.
05:22And they're like, dude, I can smell the alcohol.
05:24You'd be like, no.
05:24And then they're like, all right, fine, you know, take care of us also.
05:27And you'd slip them like 2,000 rupees or whatever is in your pocket.
05:30Normally that works.
05:31I get kind of pissed off and a lot of people pull the, don't you know who I am?
05:36That doesn't always work.
05:37I know someone really backfired on once.
05:39He got thrown into jail actually.
05:41It was really funny.
05:42But I think in many ways, Pakistan is more restrictive now.
05:47Interesting.
05:47Than it was.
05:48I think a lot of that's because of safety and other things, you know.
05:51I bought a glass.
05:54One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
06:04This feels really naughty.
06:06Two photographers passes.
06:07Okay?
06:08What's the most important thing you would want me to get out of this?
06:12I think it's two things.
06:13Number one is actually the fashion.
06:15We do have like really, really talented designers and really, really talented artisans and crafts over here in this country.
06:23And I don't think people abroad see enough of that or get to hear enough of that.
06:28And the counterpoint to that, which also fits within the larger picture, is the fact that there's a lot more
06:33to Pakistan than you see in the mainstream media.
06:37Absolutely.
06:39You know, it's crazy that I work in PR because I don't really like deleting people.
06:43I'm not very sociable.
06:44What are you talking about?
06:46That is such a lie.
06:47No, I'm really not.
06:48That is an outrageous lie.
06:50I'm really not.
06:50You're literally the most sociable person I've ever met.
06:53I'm just really charming.
06:54I'm just going to suck up to you guys.
06:55It's kind of my job.
06:57But you don't have to suck up to me.
06:58No, that's because you're beautiful.
06:59I do.
06:59It's because you're beautiful.
07:00It's not because it's my job.
07:01The rest of these guys?
07:02But I'm smart.
07:04Are you really?
07:05Is that what you want people to know you for?
07:07Really?
07:08Hey, yo, man.
07:08What's up?
07:09This is the man.
07:12Hi, the man.
07:14I'm Hayley.
07:15Nice to meet you.
07:16Nice to meet you.
07:16Nice to meet you.
07:17He's going to be showing on day three.
07:19And I'm directing.
07:19He's also directing the show.
07:21And he's...
07:21Look at his teeth.
07:23You like the one?
07:24Hayley, give me one second.
07:26I'm going to meet a couple of people.
07:26Over there, my name is Maheen Kareem.
07:28Maheen, Hayley.
07:30Hayley, Maheen.
07:31Hi.
07:31Fashion journalist extraordinaire.
07:33Nice to meet you.
07:33Hi, Hayley.
07:35Nice to meet you.
07:36Hi.
07:36Let me...
07:37Hayley.
07:38Oh, my God.
07:39I've just seen a bar and we were serving hideous blue drinks.
07:44Should we go try one?
07:45What's in these drinks?
07:46I don't know, but they taste like pure sugar.
07:48You guys found a nice non-alcoholic bar we have.
07:51Hello.
07:52Hi.
07:53Tastes like a melted Jolly Rancher.
07:55It's really good.
07:57Sometimes people only go to fashion shows to drink free champagne.
08:00That's certainly not happening here.
08:02Let's hit the red carpet.
08:04All right.
08:22Looking around backstage, the majority of Pakistani fashion was more about covering up than flashing skin.
08:30But there were some exceptions.
08:33So, apparently, there are models in bondage gear backstage, which sounds very risque.
08:45It's sort of silly being here now because two days ago when I was on my way here, I was
08:51really nervous about coming.
08:52And now I feel like I'm at a trade show in Vegas.
09:05They're playing the Pakistani national anthem, which I've never heard of on a fashion show before.
09:30Before arriving here, the kind of Pakistani fashion I was most familiar with was traditional or religious dress.
09:38But on the runway, I could see two opposing currents at work, the conservative and the more unexpected.
09:46They seem to stem from conflicting ideas.
09:49And I wanted to find out the root cause.
09:56For more than a decade, Pakistan has been shaken by ongoing terrorist violence and rising extremism.
10:03Today, traditional values and a more progressive Western vision are competing for the hearts and minds of the Pakistani public.
10:11But it wasn't always this way.
10:13I wanted the perspective of someone who remembers what it was like in the less troubled times of the 1960s.
10:21So, I met with Nusi Jamil, the grand dame of Pakistani fashion.
10:26What do you wear under this?
10:27Nothing, hopefully.
10:30This is the first picture I gave JeeLo, my husband.
10:33Wow. You look like a Sherelle.
10:36Could you talk to me about the way that you've seen fashion shift over the course of your lifetime here?
10:42So, fashion is something which was very influenced by the West as I was growing up, as was music, by
10:49the way.
10:50So, you know, one heard the music of the 60s, Joan Baez, later when the Beatles came.
10:55And I think the really dramatic and significant changes began to happen when we had a dictator, General Ziaul Haq,
11:03as president of this country.
11:05And he made changes that were so dramatic and so significant because they impact our daily lives even today.
11:15In 1978, General Ziaul Haq overthrew the democratically elected president Bhutto.
11:22He went on to declare Pakistan an Islamic state and imposed Sharia law.
11:27His interpretation of Islam favored Sunni Muslims over Shia and led to a rise in the sectarianism we see today.
11:34It's the fear of violence, I think, that when you know that somebody can blow themselves up and your children
11:41or you may be impacted, obviously people get threatened and scared.
11:45And I think it's the fear that keeps people locked up in their homes.
11:49Have you lost hope?
11:51I'm still a little bit like Alice, lost and still wondering what happened.
11:57The dominant look at Fashion Week was relatively modest, featuring traditional fabrics and embroidery.
12:03So when the model stepped out in bondage gear, it certainly roused my interest.
12:09I wanted to meet with the team responsible for this risky collection.
12:13Hi!
12:15How are you?
12:15I'm well.
12:16I'm Hailey.
12:17Hi, this is Minahil.
12:19This is Hassan.
12:19Hi Hassan.
12:21Do you guys live here?
12:22We live here.
12:23We work here.
12:23We work here 24-7.
12:25Everything.
12:25Yeah.
12:26I never sort of imagined a bondage collection on the runway in Pakistan.
12:30That's a great compliment.
12:33Do you have any backlash?
12:34Are people upset by this work?
12:36Yeah, definitely.
12:37Everybody actually asks us that are these pieces wearable?
12:40Why are you guys making these pieces?
12:42And we want to prove Pakistani people that something that a big designer of Pakistan,
12:47who are afraid of doing, these two young people can do it for the country.
12:51Yeah.
12:51So how did you get into making bondage clothing?
12:55It's about unzip me, what's inside me.
12:58Unzip me.
12:59Yeah.
12:59Okay.
12:59And as you unzip me, be strong and hope.
13:02And then how, you know, one person's life is all destroyed.
13:07And how shattered and scattered and how he reconnects himself.
13:11Can I try this on?
13:12Yeah.
13:13So my mouth is available?
13:15Okay.
13:16But do you understand that, like, we have a certain connotation with this kind of clothing?
13:22Like, for us, it's about a kind of sex culture.
13:25Yeah, exactly.
13:26And what you're saying is completely different.
13:29Yeah.
13:29You know, when you talk about bondage and you wear this stuff, you feel like you're imprisoned.
13:34But at the same time, you're intact.
13:36Are you guys into S&M?
13:38Uh, not much.
13:39Not much.
13:40Not much.
13:41We are not focusing on bondage or something to do with fetish stuff.
13:45Right.
13:45It's not that.
13:47To get a better idea of what most people in Pakistan are actually wearing every day,
13:52Mo took me to the market where she showed me how to make Pakistan's most popular outfit,
13:57the salwar kameez.
13:58Are girls competitive about how their salwar kameez look?
14:02Oh, yes.
14:02There's a lot of competition everywhere.
14:04Do you have any secret spots?
14:07Well, there are many, but I would not like to disclose them here.
14:11The salwar kameez is worn across South Asia and will always be based on a long tunic
14:16worn over loose trousers.
14:19We have different kinds of fabrics here available.
14:22Different kinds of silks, chiffons.
14:24And we buy this stuff and we get it dyed.
14:26We get an embroidery on it.
14:28And then we finally make a garment out of it.
14:30And this fancy fabric, this is Indian fabric.
14:33It's called Jamawar.
14:36What just happened?
14:37The light went off.
14:39The power went off?
14:39Yeah.
14:40Does that happen a lot here?
14:41Yeah, a lot of time.
14:43Every other hour, actually.
14:44These are all dyers here.
14:48Wow.
14:49That's a beautiful color.
14:51They can dye any color you want.
14:53This is the shade card.
14:54Oh, cool.
14:55How long have you been doing this?
14:5714 years.
14:58What's your favorite color to make?
15:00Dark blue.
15:01Yves Klein blue?
15:02Yeah.
15:02Sky blue with the sun.
15:04Oh.
15:04Sky blue, I like this.
15:05Sorry.
15:05And what is he doing now?
15:07He's drying it up so that we can see the original color.
15:10That's so beautiful.
15:12We sometimes put them on our necklines.
15:14Sometimes we put them on the slits.
15:16What about on my head?
15:18Oh, it looks lovely.
15:20Being traditional is something everybody likes here.
15:22I've noticed.
15:24Yeah.
15:30The textile industry is vital to Pakistan.
15:33It's the world's fourth largest producer of cotton, employing 15 million people.
15:39Exports of textiles contributed $9 billion to the economy last year alone.
15:44But severe shortages in gas and electricity are holding up efforts to develop the country.
15:50I'm coming to meet with Hassan Beg to find out about the government's policy and plan for the future of
15:56the textile industry.
15:58How healthy is the textile industry now?
16:01We are suffering some problems, especially the energy issue.
16:04The energy crisis actually has crippled everything.
16:08What caused the energy crisis here in Pakistan?
16:10The population is increasing.
16:13And the industry is increasing.
16:15And the energy need is increasing.
16:17And our resources were limited.
16:20And we were tackling more issue of the, I mean, security issues and terrorism.
16:25And so we could not invest really in that way.
16:29The power just went out.
16:30The power just went out, yeah.
16:33In spite of the country's energy crisis,
16:36Pakistan does produce one product that is renowned the world over for its high quality.
16:42Denim.
16:44In the last 15 years, Pakistan has become one of the most successful exporters in the world.
16:50We headed to a clothes market to see if Pakistani denim is as popular here as it is worldwide.
16:56We saw a guy at the airport wearing this really intense shirt that said, I hate you all.
17:02I imagine he purchased it somewhere like this.
17:06Does it matter that these clothes are secondhand?
17:08Do people come here to find these styles particularly?
17:12Or do they shop here because it's just cheaper?
17:14Style is everything.
17:17Are you a Snoop Dogg fan?
17:18Yes, of course.
17:21These brands may have a global reputation, but their production started a lot closer to home.
17:26What kind of jeans are these?
17:27Made in Pakistan?
17:28Made in Pakistan.
17:29G-Star?
17:30Yeah.
17:30Made in Pakistan.
17:31Where do you get these?
17:33All jeans are made in Pakistan and export to other countries.
17:37Okay.
17:37And after using other countries, it will come back and after that I will use.
17:42Only low quality of jeans are available in Pakistan.
17:46Why is that?
17:47Too expensive.
17:47These jeans are made down the street and you have to wait until they're shipped to America,
17:52have somebody else wear them, and then come back here to wear jeans that are made in your own country.
17:58Yes.
17:58That's crazy.
17:59I love Pakistan and I love Pakistani material.
18:04Because Pakistani denim is the best.
18:06But best.
18:07Not better, but best.
18:08All right.
18:09Thank you so much.
18:10Welcome, most welcome.
18:11This is crazy.
18:17After getting a taste of the world outside the Fashion Week bubble, we returned for another night.
18:24I still couldn't work out the contradiction between the bold designs and the more traditional looks.
18:29I found two women from the audience who I hoped would cast light on how they're able to engage with
18:35fashion within a religious society.
18:38When you feel the most feminine, what are you wearing?
18:42Honestly, the hijab.
18:44It gives me so much more respect.
18:45It makes me feel like a woman.
18:47And if you get caught by the cops, yeah, if you're dressed like this, they let you go.
18:52And it frames your face.
18:54Yes.
18:54I never have a bad hair day.
18:56Yeah.
18:56I have a bad hijab day, but not a bad hair day.
18:59Can you explain how you reconcile your love of fashion and your religion?
19:04Nowhere in Islam does it say that you cannot enjoy fashion.
19:09I'm covered, but I'm wearing my pants.
19:12I'm wearing a nice shirt, yeah.
19:13Do you ever find it limiting?
19:15Do you ever find yourself wanting to wear something crazy?
19:17We can wear anything crazy as long as it's in the confines of our home in front of people that
19:22are Mehram.
19:23Mehram is a term used for the men who we are allowed to show our skin to, yeah.
19:28I need a Mehram.
19:30You need a Mehram, yeah.
19:32To some Pakistanis, the slashed skirts, plunging necklines, and crop tops were pushing boundaries
19:39and revealing too much of a woman's body in public.
19:43I wanted to learn how models reconcile the clothes they wear on the runway with the culture beyond the fashion
19:48industry.
19:49So we met up with two models who had moved back to Pakistan after working abroad.
19:54And are there girls that have had a more religious upbringing that have difficulty with the clothes they have to
20:00wear?
20:01It's changing.
20:02The parents who used to think like that can, no, don't wear that, don't wear this.
20:06They're also changing their mind now slowly, slowly, because everything has changed.
20:10But I have a little bit of a different take on that.
20:12Okay.
20:12I feel like, you know, every country has its own culture.
20:17And I don't think we should be forced to follow any other culture.
20:20Sometimes as models we do try to speak up when it comes to that.
20:23But if you speak up too much, like yesterday I was taken out of a show.
20:26No.
20:27Because I said that, listen, you know, guys, you know, I do come from a liberal family.
20:30But at the same time, if I don't have to, then is there another option?
20:34And as soon as I brought up my concern, he took me out of the show.
20:37I would actually prefer not to wear any kind of revealing clothes at all.
20:41We are definitely one culture who can show that we don't really need to reveal too much of our skin
20:46to look beautiful.
20:47Because it's been part of our culture. We know how to do it.
20:50The fashion scene in Pakistan was clearly pushing boundaries.
20:53But I wondered if this culture of tolerance extended to other areas.
20:58Sex is rampant in Pakistan.
21:00And why not?
21:01Why not?
21:02And why not?
21:03We caught up with a journalist known as the most hated man in Pakistan to ask him about it.
21:09So, I heard you're the most hated bitch in Pakistan.
21:12Kind of.
21:13In fact, like, kind of.
21:14Yes, I am.
21:15Because I have a voice.
21:17A big voice.
21:18I can give it to you.
21:19Ah.
21:23Obviously in the West, the gay culture and fashion is immense.
21:27Is that a case here?
21:28We think we should celebrate diversity and difference.
21:32And there's so much sex in Pakistan.
21:33I cannot tell you.
21:34You go to rural areas.
21:36It's very fluid.
21:38Really?
21:39Men have boyfriends and best friends.
21:42We are showing what we are on these ramps.
21:46It's completely shocking for many people.
21:49And they are out to suppress us.
21:51And we are pushing boundaries in a conservative culture.
21:55That's our way to fight back.
21:57You see, the more people do fashion, the more those forces are defeated.
22:04After watching their runway show, Pakistani designer Gull Ahmed offered to lend me a dress for the evening.
22:12First, I was invited backstage to have my hair and makeup done.
22:16After doing the traditional fashion, the more women are approached by Asian people.
22:23One of them could be done in that movement.
22:25One of them is she males type.
22:28But I had to do it.
22:30One thing I was to do.
22:32It was one thing I had to do.
22:37My mom wouldn't agree with me.
22:42I didn't think that she would like me.
22:44But I still didn't know.
22:48Was your environment difficult to deal with in Karachi
22:52when you were going through that transition?
23:06You're my hero.
23:08I have to say, I was surprised to be meeting
23:11a transgender hairstylist in Pakistan.
23:13It seems that the fashion world has always offered a sanctuary
23:18for people shunned by wider society.
23:22Hair and makeup done, all that was left to do
23:24was put on my new dress.
23:27Hi, how are you?
23:29Moment of truth.
23:31I'm a little bit worried because it looks very see-through.
23:35I know this is crazy, but I actually did bring a bra on this trip.
23:40To get this over my Mormon hairdo.
23:42I know. I'm so scared it's gonna break.
23:45I can't get out!
23:48Can you help me?
23:50Are we going on and off?
23:51On and on and on.
23:56I can't go out there.
23:59I didn't bring high heels because I didn't think
24:02people wore high heels here.
24:07This is my big debut into Karachi society.
24:10Wish me luck.
24:15Hi, how are you?
24:16I'm good, you look lovely.
24:18I'm actually thinking I should get your heels
24:20because those aren't going.
24:21Oh, they're bad.
24:21So I want you to wear something.
24:23Okay.
24:24Cool.
24:24Do you have like gold heels?
24:26Okay.
24:26She doesn't have any.
24:27Okay.
24:27I think she's got really small feet though.
24:29I feel like the ugly duck leg.
24:32Okay, good?
24:33Great.
24:33It looks pretty.
24:35Do you like me better like this?
24:36I don't know.
24:38The smartness doesn't come out as much in this outfit.
24:41Yeah.
24:42They dress me up, how do you think I look?
24:44Yeah, you look nice.
24:45It's a nice job.
24:47Yeah.
24:49Do I look like a local?
24:50Local?
24:51Why do you want to look like a local?
24:52Why?
24:53Why, why?
24:54Goodbye.
25:01This event had many of the familiar comforts
25:03of Fashion Weeks across the globe.
25:06However, this pocket of liberalism seemed to be at odds
25:09with the country's mainstream religious ideals.
25:17Fashion Week had shown me Pakistan's more progressive side.
25:21But this is a country that is also home to extremist factions.
25:25I traveled to the capital city and religious heart of Pakistan,
25:29Islamabad, 900 miles away from Karachi,
25:32to meet with a hardline Islamic cleric, Abdul Aziz Ghazi.
25:37But first, I had to find the right outfit.
25:41Assalamualaikum.
25:43I'd like to buy a burqa.
25:44Uh-huh.
25:45If you wear, ma'am, this one?
25:46It's a little sparkly.
25:48Maybe you want a little more classic.
25:52So this is the super cash.
25:54Okay, I'll be right back.
25:56And do I wear pants underneath?
25:58Yeah, yeah.
25:58Yeah.
25:59Okay, I'm gonna try on my first burqa.
26:01It's very exciting.
26:06What do you think?
26:08Yeah.
26:08Is it good?
26:12Oh, my God.
26:14What's happening to me?
26:17Ah!
26:17But it's, like, coming up against my eyelashes.
26:20Cool.
26:21I feel like I'm in a disguise.
26:26Mm-hmm.
26:28Abdul Ghazi is the imam at the Notorious Red Mosque, an ultra-conservative mosque with strong
26:33ties to al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
26:37Ironically, when the mosque was raided in 2007, Ghazi managed to escape, dressed in a burqa.
26:45I've just arrived at Abdul Aziz Ghazi's hiding place.
26:48I'm about to go in and meet him.
26:49Um, I'm dressed in what I hope is an appropriate outfit, and it's really hot, and I'm really
26:57nervous.
26:58Um, this is probably the most dangerous man I've ever met in my life.
27:01Okay, can we, can that just be it?
27:03I'm done.
27:03You shouldn't be nervous.
27:04Okay, but, you know, I've never done this before.
27:08I'm not feeling great.
27:10Do I have to go first?
27:11Yes.
27:12His radical preaching has led him to be banned from setting foot in the mosque.
27:16He is still a wanted man by the Pakistani government, and so Ghazi is in hiding.
27:22In order to talk to him, we had to meet at a madrasa, or a religious school, which he
27:26now helps to run.
27:27No, you don't want to?
27:30That's fine.
27:31He will do this.
27:33Look, I'm not giving him an interview.
27:35So, the law of the law is the law of the law.
27:39I'm going to give him a law of the law.
27:40I'm going to give him a law of the law.
27:41I'm going to give him a law of the law.
27:44I'm going to give him a law of the law.
27:57Ready?
28:08There's a secular part of society that are holding things like the fashion week.
28:15How does their influence on Pakistan make you feel?
28:20And what are the vices that you would like to be removed from Pakistani society?
28:47What is a woman's role in society, in your opinion?
29:06I'm working right now.
29:08Do you find it strange to be interviewed by a woman?
29:30How do you think I look in this outfit?
29:32Very good looking, really.
29:39Oh, he hasn't seen me.
29:41Okay.
29:42We just want to show you guys something.
29:56Planet Earth.
30:03So, he's taken clips of Planet Earth, the TV show, and narrated them himself.
30:26This is really strange.
30:30It feels like I'm sitting around with my pals watching YouTube videos.
30:35Next, Abdul Ghazi took us on a tour of the madrasa.
30:39So, this is where you print all of your books.
30:46The madrasa goes a step further than the state does, by providing students with free
30:51food, housing, and medical care, making it an enticing draw for many of the poorest Pakistanis.
30:58Ghazi was being surprisingly hospitable to an American girl like myself, though it soon
31:04became clear not everyone wanted us there.
31:17There's some kind of fight happening.
31:18Is that his wife?
31:22But is she upset that I'm a woman?
31:26He's like his wife is the boss.
31:29Yes.
31:29Yeah.
31:32She's not that here.
31:35OK.
31:36I will give you a second.
31:39I will give you a second.
31:41Please give me a second.
31:42Don't give me a second, Lord, and what I will say,
31:46and the end is not the first one.
31:51And I will give you a second, Lord, and you will give me a second.
32:06In the conservative and religious areas of Pakistan,
32:08women's clothing is often limited to one option, the burqa.
32:13In the West, some associate the burqa with female oppression,
32:16but an award-winning cartoon is trying to shift that perception.
32:26Why this project? Why now?
32:28I was reading about girls' schools being shut down by extremists in 2010, 2011,
32:35and like most Pakistanis, I was outraged.
32:43So I started imagining the schoolteacher standing up against these bad guys.
32:50And why the burqa?
32:51It's local and relatable.
32:53Secondly, I couldn't have her dressed as some of the Western superheroes
32:56like Catwoman or Wonder Woman because I thought that was objectifying women.
33:02And the other interesting thing is people would joke
33:04that when they'd see women in a burqa, they would say, oh, that's a ninja.
33:07That was always in my mind that, you know, that'd be a great disguise.
33:10And apart from that, growing up, I had thought that women in hijab and burqa,
33:14they were very oppressed.
33:15And I'd meet Baksani women.
33:17I'd say, I'm so sorry, you know, did your father force you?
33:20And they were like, what are you talking about?
33:21This is my identity.
33:22My father actually hates me wearing this.
33:24This is who I am.
33:25So you're in fact reclaiming the burqa?
33:28The burqa is just a piece of cloth, man-made cloth.
33:31And that needs to be understood.
33:33Burqa!
33:34Burqa!
33:35Burqa!
34:02Burqa!
34:04Burqa!
34:06Burqa!
34:06Burqa!
34:06Burqa!
34:06Burqa!
34:06Burqa!
34:07Burqa!
34:07Burqa!
34:08Burqa!
34:10Burqa!
34:12Burqa!
34:20Burqa!
34:32Burqa!
34:33feel angry at him. I really want to know how one gets to the point of doing
34:39something like that. I know that he's a taxi driver. I know that he is a free
34:45man. He was not charged because there was no evidence, as if the marrings on her
34:51face were not enough. I think he's ready for us.
34:59He's coming over. He's covering his face.
35:08How come you're covering your face?
35:17I know there was an incident with your wife in which you poured acid on her. I was wondering
35:22if you could talk to me about how that happened.
35:47You were just embarrassed. You care a lot about what other people
35:53think of you.
35:53This is a very bad thing. You're going to get angry. You're going to get angry. You're
35:57going to get angry so that you can do it. Okay? I was going to do it again. I was
36:02able to do it again. Then I did it again. I did it again. Then I was going to go
36:06for a
36:07day. Then I was going to go for a while. But after that, I didn't get angry. Then I
36:11did it again. Then I cut my hair off. When I cut my hair off, then I said, okay, if
36:17you're
36:17going to go for a while, then I'm going to go for a while. I'm going to go for a
36:30while.
36:30You couldn't just talk to her about it?
36:40I wouldn't have done the same thing. Did you think your wife was beautiful?
36:51No, it's really difficult to empathize with someone like that whose logic is so out of
36:56whack. The fact that he chose the word fashion to be this charged and sort of brutal thing
37:06that happened to him blew my mind. I now know that the Fashion Week is some kind of political
37:16act if people like him still exist in this society. Fashion means more than clothing.
37:26It's not something here. It's about defending a choice or not having a choice.
37:38I had been shocked to learn that the motive behind an acid attack could be as simple as
37:43what a woman is wearing. It is a freedom that we take for granted. But here it can lead to
37:49the destruction of a woman's life. I had heard that there were people trying to change society
37:55to end these attacks and help the victims. Run in conjunction with beauty parlors all over
38:01Pakistan, the Lahore-based Smile Again Foundation set up 13 years ago by beautician Musrat Misbah
38:07helps acid attack victims rebuild their lives.
38:11So initially coming here my understanding that was most of these circumstances were perpetrated
38:16by the husbands. It's not just the husbands. There are other family members who are also involved
38:21in burning her. A woman is subjected to domestic violence because she is a commodity. She's a
38:28non-paid servant at all times and she doesn't have a say and if she gets the strength to say
38:34that no this is
38:35right or wrong then she gets punished for that. That's the most difficult thing for me to understand
38:41because when I look at these women I think of them as victims and when people in their
38:48community look at them they think what have you done to deserve something like this.
38:52So it's the mindset of a society that needs to be changed. And when they throw acid it's always their
38:59face and their private parts also. Oh God, I didn't know that. And then she's not useful also.
39:07So it's a punishment which is worse than killing. To me it's like his intent is to disfigure her
39:13because for any young girl or woman her vanity is everything, her face is everything.
39:19There should be more severe and certain punishment. I want you to meet Josephine.
39:24Hi Josephine. I'm Hayley. Nice to meet you.
39:27Josephine is a very brave girl. Her relatives tried to burn her down and but she survived
39:34although she lost her eye. She's going to a vocational training school to do stitching and embroidery.
39:40She's got her work also.
39:42What do you think about your heart?
39:47My life is now. You've already finished.
39:51I live with my own way.
39:52I live with my own way.
39:54I live with my own way.
39:57I live with my own way.
40:00I live with my own way.
40:03Another common cause of acid attacks are disputes over a bride's dowry.
40:09If the groom or his parents are unhappy with the amount of money offered by a bride's family,
40:14they will sometimes punish her with acid.
40:18Will you tell me your story?
40:20I live with my own way.
40:28My mother was a husband.
40:35My grandmother is a wife.
40:44My wife was a husband.
40:45My wife was a husband.
40:48My husband.
40:50I got to the hospital, left my house,
40:52left my house and left my house.
40:55Then my family members took me to the hospital,
41:00and left my house.
41:01And then I left with them.
41:03I'm going to take my house.
41:10It's very difficult.
41:13I'm really at a loss of words after this day.
41:18It's been so inspiring to see these women overcome
41:21these insane atrocities.
41:24Today was a day that I'll never forget.
41:55Karachi Fashion Week had been unlike any other fashion week I'd been to.
42:00The designers' collections told only half the story.
42:04The runway itself felt like a battleground for areas of religious and cultural conflict.
42:10What can I learn about Pakistani culture by coming to a fashion show like this?
42:16Pakistan is not just a country full of terrorists.
42:19There is women empowerment you see here.
42:21There is heritage and preservation of craft that you see here.
42:25So I think you're going to take back home a lot of goodie points.
42:28We have a lot of talent, which I think is now coming into the spotlight with such events.
42:34Do you ever have to censor yourself on the runway?
42:37We do.
42:37Sometimes we do.
42:38We try to be careful to not show anything which is undecent.
42:42We need to respect our culture as well.
42:47What is religious clothing?
42:49It's not religious clothing.
42:50It's cultural.
42:52Is there a Jewish dress?
42:53Is there a Hindu dress?
42:54Is there a Christian dress?
42:56No.
42:57Fashion is fashion.
42:58We know how to dress them.
43:00We've been interacting with the West for the last 500 years.
43:04So we know.
43:05We think we should celebrate diversity and difference.
43:09That's the beauty of this world.
43:14In Pakistan, the simple act of getting dressed is not just personal.
43:19It's political too.
43:21In a culture where what you wear can have devastating consequences, style can be an act of bravery.
43:53If you wear the restrictions,CCs just put everything on land and you so HDD.
43:55We're you soaring, amazing.
43:58Feel free to do it.
43:59The way you look forward to the West for all your brilliantrias are excellent.
44:01What sont MODES and CSUN?
44:01Is that anyone living in Japan anymore?
44:01Are there any good docerous commissions with people with them?udding?
44:01even having extremeplants. Also name China.
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