Where The Sari Meets Chanel

Please. I've been to India and those women are not giving up the sari any time soon. The main dressfor women in India is 1. the sari and 2. the pajama. They take pride in their beautifully colored modesty. Trust me you would not see a woman in india wearing a patent leather mini skirt. She would be in danger if she wore that out in broad daylight. The only time you might see an Indian woman in something like that is on tv (and my adopeted indian mother told me, yes she wears that for tv, but as soon as she comes off the set, she puts back on her sari.) or on a girl who snuck the skirt out under her sari on the way to a disco. A few of the younger gengeration does wear jeans and t-shirts, but even in a city like Hyderabad, i only saw maybe 5 women in a time period of one month, wearing anything but sari's pajama's or the black muslim burka. Now you want to talk about advancment for women and style that is the place to look.
Traditionally the black burka covering everything but the eyes, has been worn by the muslim women. Now adays you can see 4 inches of colorfull sari's poking out the bottom, gorgous embrodery beginning to creep it's way up the black material, the viel and head garment being worn less and less,and occationally, you will see a muslim teen in jeans a tee-shirt and the black viel and head garment the only clue to her muslim heritage. Or you could take a look at their pre-pubecent daughters, running around in princess dresses if you want fashion.
Here's the thing, these women feel safe and confident in the clothing they wear. I don't know how many times my host family told me, "don't think otherwise, but you should put on your chuni before we go." or " you should probably wear long sleeves today, you need to be covered where we are going, it's dangerous, don't think otherwise." Because for as much progress as the women in India have made, it's still not safe to bear your shoulders with a tank top or wear a skirt that shows more that and inch or two above your ankles. A woman in India wearing a mini skirt!!! Give me a break!