Heart and Soul Me and My Turban Me and My Turban
The Turban is the one thing that identifies a Sikh more than any other symbol of their faith. An edict handed down in 1699 by the 10th Sikh Guru - Gobind Singh β require Sikhs not to cut their hair. The turban, part of the Bana or military uniform at that time, was used to keep and protect a Sikhs hair. However in line with its military tradition, itβs something that has always been a masculine symbol and almost exclusively worn by men and not women. Thatβs until now it seems. βI wasnβt always like this.β Says Devinder a teaching assistant from Ilford just outside London holding up a photo album of her younger years. βI used to have cut black curls, wear makeup -go out and do what people do on nights outβ¦ but it never sat comfortably with me even then.β Seven years ago Devinder decided to become fully baptised into the Sikh faith, stopped cutting any of her hair and began wearing a tall white wrapped turban. She is one of a growing number of Sikh women who are wearing Turbans Nikki Bedi meets them to explore why they are so intent to identify themselves as Sikh women
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Heart and Soul—Me and My Turban
Are women who choose to wear turbans more Sikh than those who don't?
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