Why are Kashmiris sharing photos of traditional dress?

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▼ Officials in Indian-administered Kashmir have reversed an education department ban on employees wearing traditional dress to work, following an outcry on social media.
"All officials visiting the office are advised to visit in proper dress code during any official visit. It is recommended that no official will visit this office wearing pheran, traditional trousers and slipper/plastic shoes," an 11 December circular said.
In response, Kashmiri social media users protested by sharing images of themselves wearing the pheran - a traditional long coat or cloak worn by both men and women.
The ban was later scrapped, though a separate local government proscription on wearing the pheran remains in place in the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar city.
The outcry comes as Indian-administered Kashmir remains under direct rule from Delhi after the collapse of the coalition  government led by former Chief Minister  Mehbooba Mufti in June.
Many of those to post decried what they saw as an attack on their cultural heritage.
Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, described the ban as "regressive".
I fail to understand why pherans should be banned! This is a regressive order that makes no sense at all. Pherans are a very practical way of keeping warm during the cold winter aside from being part of our identity. This order should be withdrawn. https://t.co/ClmV5b9smV — Omar Abdullah (OmarAbdullah) December 18, 2018

Some of those sharing images told of the significance of the pheran to them.
My latest pheran
I have half a dozen.
My oldest one is about 20 years old and made of tweed. I virtually live in them in the winters. pheranlove pheranbanmakes no sense. pic.twitter.com/eeUAmjJCZb — kaveri (ikaveri) December 18,  2018

Others described the ban as a "cultural onslaught" and pointed to the practical benefits of the long cloak in cold weather.
What exactly is this cultural onslaught in Kashmir? PHERANsomething, which is associated with an identity and is a winter attire! Why at all this ban in the peak of this season?? revokepheranban Pheranban pic.twitter.com/s8LEbovjCP — Ifrah M Ahmad (ifrahmufti) December 19, 2018

Hands off my pheran. A time when choosing the most sensible piece of clothing to brave the cold becomes an act of protest. ProtestWear Kashmir pic.twitter.com/ipqxbDVJwX — Sinjini (sinjini_m) December 19,  2018

Inevitably, at least one social media user looked to cats to make their point.
Wuchh baya- agar myon til pheran wuchit gayve tuih impress- til gassi Mashallah, Subhanallah wanun.
“Wow” chu hoon ti karan! pheranlove pheranlovechaijaai pic.twitter.com/7sA8RM9aeU — Saniya Zehra (Saniya_Zehra_) December 18, 2018
Abdul Rashid, the zonal education officer who ordered the ban, confirmed to the  Indian Expressit had been overturned.
"People used to walk into offices wearing pherans and... I had asked for that to be banned," he said.
"The chief education officer called me and asked me to revoke the order, so I have."
This is not the first time the pheran has been proscribed.
In 2014, the Indian army told journalists not to wear the pheran while visiting a corps headquarters in Srinagar.
Later, the army retracted the order, saying the guideline had been "inadvertent".

► This news was originally published in: Source