Former Congress legislator in Karnataka Zameer Ahmed Khan on Sunday courted a controversy after he equated the non-wearing of hijab to rising instances of rape across the country, adding to the already vitriolic voices on headscarf row.
“The meaning of wearing Hijab is that women and children after they grow up, they are kept in Ghose Pardah (Hijab). It is to hide her beauty and offer protection. You may see that Rape rates are the highest in India. The reason is that they (women) are not kept in Gosh Pardah,” Khan said in Hubballi.
“I don’t understand why did he (Arif Mohammad Khan) say so. Hijab is Gosh-e-Parda in Islam. Maybe, he (Kerala governor) doesn’t have a woman or a girl in his house. I am not sure. If he had a woman or girl in his house, he would have known,” Ahmed added.
“Hijab protects the beauty of a girl. It hides her beauty,” Ahmed said further.
The statements by Ahmed Khan come at a time when the hijab row continues to engulf educational institutions in Karnataka and other parts of the country where students have turned on each other trying to assert their religious identity.
The controversy first broke out in Udupi, about 400 kms from Bengaluru, when at least eight girls from the Government Girls Pre-University college in the district were not allowed to attend classes wearing Hijab. They sat outside the classes (within the college premises) as their statements and videos of this alleged discrimination went global through relentless media coverage and social media.
The Karnataka high court is hearing multiple petitions related to the controversy, and has issued directions to the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to resume schools and that no one will be allowed to wear any religious attire until the final verdict.
The HC will continue hearing the case on Monday afternoon.
A peace meeting was held in Udupi on Sunday with representatives of all political and religious outfits agreeing to continue with the high court directions and that hijab would be allowed in institutions where it was an accepted practice before the controversy.
The Congress leader’s statements, however, are unlikely to augur well for the situation in the volatile atmosphere in the coastal district which remains on the edge since the beginning of January.
“Hijab is not a part of Islam. Hijab is mentioned seven times in the Quran, but it is not in connection with the women’s dress code. It is in connection with ‘purdah’ which means that when you speak, you should have ‘purdah’ in between,” Arif Mohammad Khan said, HT reported on Sunday.
“The argument that wearing a turban is allowed to the Sikhs, but the Muslim girls are not being allowed to wear the hijab inside the classroom is absurd. Turban is an essential part of the Sikh religion; however, the hijab is not mentioned as an essential part of Islam in the Quran,” he added, HT reported.
The legislator said that women and children after they grow up, are kept under the Hijab to hide their beauty and those who want protection.
He added that it was not compulsory to wear the hijab.
“The reason is that they (women) are not kept in Gosha Pardah. It (the practice of Hijab) is not from today but there from a long time ago. It is not compulsory as well but those who want protection, hide their beauty from others, wear hijab. There is nothing that states that you should compulsorily wear the hijab,” Zameer Ahmed Khan said.
