Thursday, September 8 2005 16:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Sania Mirza today (Sept 8, 2005) refused to be drawn into a controversy over her professional dress code and denied she faced any racial discrimination on the circuit.

A religious scholar reportedly issued a 'fatwa' about her dress code saying that Islam does not permit a woman to wear skirts, shorts and sleeveless tops.

"Veil can be dropped on certain occasions but not the way the girl is going about and playing in all those countries," the scholar told a private news channel yesterday (Sept 7, 2005).

The comments of the scholar were extensively aired by the private television channel that also sought the views of women's organizations on the subject, stirring a major controversy.

Maintaining stoic silence on the issue, Sania, who comes from a devout Muslim family, passed the query off saying that she has nothing to say about it.

When asked if she faced any racial discrimination during her Grand Slam tournaments, Sania answered in the negative, saying that only a few people commented on interesting slogans on her T-shirts.

"No one said that a girl from a Third World country is playing the fourth round of a Grand Slam. I never faced such a situation," the 18-year-old Hyderabadi said in a press conference organized by her sponsor GVK Reddy in Hyderabad today.

Commenting on the encroachment of her privacy by the media and the fans alike, Sania said, "Slowly I'm getting used to it. I get noticed whereever I go and I become focal point of media and my dress and other things get noticed. It's strange but I'm getting used to it."