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I was hurt and dismayed when
a young amritdhari Sikh said "Bhain Ji, it is a cultural
thing for Sikh women to wear a chuni. It has been so and
will always be, as Guru Gobind Singh never said that Sikh women
should wear a turban. Mai Bhago wore it because she was acting as
a man to go into battle. The woman's place is in the house …"
It appears to be right for Sikh men to wear western clothes, yet
Sikh women are expected to wear salvaar kameez as "this
is our culture". One Punjabi Sikh in western clothes told me
this in a pleading, trembling voice, as if the earth would
if a Sikh woman with turban is seen in a skirt, though the skirt
is an accepted form of western dress. Why can a man wear a turban
(keski / dastar) with western clothes but a woman not?
At the time of Guru Tegh Bhadhur no Sikh women and few Sikh men
wore turbans. Only landlords, Rajputs, army generals, village leaders,
sardars and the like wore it. The lowly common men would have had
no head cover, and women had their chuni.
Women had to wear a veil up to the time of Guru Amar Das Ji, until
he spoke out against it. A dupatta / chuni or some other
form of head cover would have been worn after that as a mark of
respect. Men probably wore a topi or a wrap. Even today some
village women of the older generation use a chuni to not
only cover their head, but also partially the face, so that their
eyes do not meet with those of other (older) men apart from their
husbands'.
It was after the 1699 amrit ceremony that turbans became
the norm for Sikh men. The non-amritdhari still may not have worn
turbans. It is possible that amrit taking was optional and not compulsory
for the Sikhs, as it is believed that Bhai Nand Lal and Bhai Ghanaya
did not take amrit. It is possible that apart from mata Sahib
Kaur no other women took amrit, as they were living in the
shadow of men, and never had the courage, nor were encouraged to
take amrit.
Today, Sikh men wear western clothing with a turban and Sikh women,
of no matter what cultural background, are to take on the chuni
as a sign of being Sikh womaen and they are expected to not wear
a turban.
There is equality in Khalsa yet the turban is optional for Sikh
women. The majority of Sikh women decide not to wear it. I guess
the reason for this could be that she has no knowledge of the power
of the turban and the honour it brings to the wearer. She is unaware
that by wearing the turban she will send strong signals to her children,
telling them, that she believes in Sikhi and thus will strengthen
their faith in Guru.
The real reason why women do not wear turbans is most likely that
men still keep women in chains and do not permit the wearing of
a turban by women, and ridicule her if she shows the slightest interest
in it.
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