A British-Pakistani broadcaster and writer revealed that she took off her veil yesterday, 26 years after wearing it, and made it clear that she did not take this decision lightly because her veil not only distinguished her spiritually, but also professionally.
She explained in an article in the British Daily Telegraph that she decided to take off the veil because of her desire for a real relationship between her and her faith, and between her and her public image.
She said that although her veil was a big part of her life, she did not want to look more religious than she was. "Authenticity and honesty are more important to me than formal compliance."
Bushra started her article by saying that Muslim women from different backgrounds are now rethinking what modesty and decency mean, noting that they do not want to change sharia law, and that there is a new generation of British-born British scholars who have more knowledge to discuss these issues than .
These discussions could not ignore the issue of safety. She has been the victim of three Islamophobic attacks in recent months and years, one of which has been post-traumatic stress disorder.
She denied what she said could be believed by some to be an ideological coup on the principle of the veil or religion, stressing that all this is far from the truth.
She said that as a businesswoman, she knew that modesty and decency were more than a headscarf, that she took off her veil but maintained social restrictions, still wearing long, dark clothes and not going out in a short skirt.
Bushra Shaikh has set up a London-based company to design luxury clothing for Muslim women as "Ella" (iiLA).