POLITICIANS and their clothes can never be separated from politics.
It is the side plot which moves along with the main story — scene to scene, act to act — from Gandhi and his homespun clothes to Mohammad Ali Jinnah whose transition to the Quaid-i-Azam was accompanied by the adoption of the sherwani and karakuli hat, over his famed Savile Row suits.
In the recent US election, Kamala Harris’ clothes and jewellery came in for scrutiny as did Melania Trump’s expensive elegance. The discussion of any woman’s appearance in the political sphere brings up the inevitable reference to Angela Merkel, who stuck to her signature uniform look.
But where the general assumption is that attire is an individual choice it is not necessarily true. Especially in our part of the world, where leaders themselves embody the political party they lead. In fact, it can safely be said that politicians’ appearance also reflects the larger political culture of the party they head.
Consider the PPP, Pakistan’s first truly popular party. Even those who did not witness those times have heard about the awami suit popularised by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or the shalwar kameez he donned, exchanging it for his stylish Western suits that he was obviously comfortable with in his previous avatar. Such is the power of politics and optics.
His daughter continued the trend. From her clothes to decisions about her personal life — it was all motivated by the political life Benazir Bhutto had chosen to lead as the head of a ‘popular party’. For instance, when she got married, the manner in which it was celebrated — in some ways — was a political statement — the biggest event was held in Lyari in Karachi, with details in the press of how she decided to wear very little jewellery and opted for glass bangles instead of gold ones. (Similar perhaps was the Gandhi family where both Indira and Sonia married in the sari woven by Jawaharlal Nehru in jail.)
The sartorial choices of politicians reflect the larger political culture of the party they head.
Despite her iconic appearance when she took oath, or the gharara she wore to the White House, Benazir Bhutto‘s sartorial choices over the years became known for lack of style rather than the earlier elegance she had displayed. Perhaps it was a conscious choice for a young woman who knew she had to live her life out in public. Contrast this with her mother Nusrat Bhutto, who too was in politics but continued to be elegantly dressed. But then, it was Benazir who carried the burden of being the people’s leader, and not her mother.
Benazir in her trademark jacket with shalwar kameez, her hair scraped back in a topknot has always been a source of comfort for many working women. If one of the most powerful women in Pakistan didn’t have time to look her best before running to the National Assembly, it was surely fine for so many of us to have unkempt hair as work takes over. But I digress.
The political culture of a popular party doesn’t allow for much of a personal life, even in death. The Bhuttos’ burial place is a mazar open to all. When the family visits it and images are released, they might as well be at any shrine in Pakistan but for the family’s pictures in the background.
In some ways, the PTI is and has adopted a similar culture. Imran Khan, the party head, like ZAB, was equally comfortable in his Western suits, ever present at black-tie events in London and beyond. But these images are part of a life he claims to have left behind. His public persona as the head of a party is more awami — the white shalwar kameez, the tasbeeh wrapped around his hand.
Even when he visited abroad as prime minister, he stuck to traditional wear. The only Western clothes he now appears in are casual tracksuits, which too, are perhaps part of a carefully curated image because he and his supporters never tire of reminding us that as a fast bowler, Khan was relentless.
That all this is not sheer coincidence is more apparent when one looks at PTI leaders around him. Most of them also wear shalwar kameez all the time. A PTI member tells a story of a jalsa where a young politician climbed up to the container and was told off by Imran Khan and sent back because he was wearing jeans and a shirt. There are no days off in politics, especially popular politics.
This awami culture of optics has not really been a part of the PML-N, which began life as a patronage-based party. Nawaz Sharif never cultivated this image of an awami leader, which is different from implying that he doesn’t care for the people or lacks empathy. The expensive scarves and watches which have been pictured are a case in point. When he took oath as PM for the third time, it was the PPP which pointed out the expensive watch he wore. Since then, it is the PTI which has been his fashion critic. Perhaps this more than anything else has influenced the sartorial choices of Maryam Nawaz, who is often criticised for her expensive image.
Interestingly, Shehbaz Sharif, while he was chief minister, did try to cultivate a more awami image with his safari suits but has abandoned them since becoming PM. This absence of populism is also marked by the Sharif family’s decision to keep its private life separate. The only change recently was the release of images of Maryam Nawaz’s son’s wedding — but even here, there was no effort at any political symbolism.
However, this is obviously an issue the PML-N will be compelled to address in changing times, even if it is far from a populist party. In the era of social media and a strengthening middle class, politicians of all shades will be subjected to a scrutiny not possible earlier.
There will also be pressure to conform to this rather urban and middle-class notion of political leaders appearing to be a ‘people’s person’ rather than someone set above the citizens.
The writer is a journalist.
Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2024
