Cover up or else, Kashmir women told

Islamic fundamentalists require women to cover their heads, veil their faces

SRINAGAR, India -- Muslim women are rushing to buy veils in Indian Kashmir for safety's sake as a deadline to abide by a strict Islamic dress code draws near.

Shopkeepers have told Reuters that sales of veils and burqas (cloaks) have gone up across the Kashmir valley after the Lashkar-e-Jabar militant group fixed September 1 as the deadline.

While the militants have not said what they will do to women not wearing veils, many are not willing to take any chances, especially since a separatist women's group, the Dhukhtaran-e-Milat, has added its support to the campaign.

"The threat now sounds genuine, that's why I am buying an Abiyah (veil)," school teacher Amina Khan said while shopping for a veil in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

They are particularly nervous after Lashkar-e-Jabar militants sprayed acid on two women on a Srinagar street for not wearing traditional dress.

Earlier reports coming out of Kashmir have said that women have been sprayed with colored paint or even shot in the legs for wearing western dresses.

Frontline Kashmiri rebel groups have condemned the acid and other attacks and blamed the incident on Indian agents.

Officials say more policemen have been deployed and security has been tightened near schools and colleges.

Heads covered, faces veiled

Islamic militants have been trying to establish their hold over Kashmir since the start of a bloody rebellion nearly 11 years ago.

Since the rebellion broke out in late 1989, separatist guerrillas have banned beauty parlors, cinema halls and wine shops and demanded the females wear the Islamic dress code.

But they have faced little success in the region where stricter forms of fundamentalist Islam are not widely practiced and people mostly follow Sufiism, a gentle way of life preached by Sufi saints.

Authorities in Kashmir say people in the troubled state have resisted the rise of Islamic fundamentalism since the start of the rebellion and will do so again.

"In the early nineties militants tried to impose their kind of Islamic codes but people rejected it. They will reject it again," a state government spokesman told Reuters.

Two highly-guarded cinema halls and a few wine shops were opened in 1996 with the help of authorities.