Zaira Wasim breaks silence on the hijab row: There are matters of national importance and then there are matters that are dragged and exaggerated to make them look worthy of national importance. In the ongoing Karnataka Hijab row, several Bollywood celebs spoke out including Javed Akhtar and Sonam Kapoor. And now, former actor Zaira Wasim, who quit the film industry citing that her work was stopping her from her pursuing her faith, wrote a big post on the issue.Also Read - Karnataka Cabinet Expansion Likely Soon, BJP Leaders Rushing To Delhi: Report
Taking to social media, Zaira wrote that women wearing hijab in Islam is ‘not a choice but an obligation’ but that obligation comes when the one fully surrenders to the almighty. The actor who was last seen alongside Farhan Akhtar and Priyanka Chopra Jonas in The Sky is Pink added that those calling hijab a choice are speaking about it from ‘convenience or ignorance.’ She said, “The inherited notion of hijab being a choice is an ill-informed one. It’s often either a construct of convenience or ignorance. Hijab isn’t a choice but an obligation in Islam. Likewise, a woman who wears the hijab is fulfilling an obligation enjoined upon her by the God she loves and has submitted herself to. I, as a woman who wears the hijab with gratitude and humility, resent and resist this entire system where women are being stopped and harassed for merely carrying out a religious commitment (sic).” Also Read - Karnataka: White Stone Hill Collapses During Mining; Several Bengal Labourers Feared Trapped
Zaira’s post comes in the light of the incident that began when a few students were heckled by protestors in Karnataka for wearing hijab and were barred from entering their college premises while wearing the hijab. The matter is currently being judged in the Karnataka High Court. On Friday, advocate general Prabhuling Navadgi, representing the Karnataka government, submitted before the court that ‘Hijab does not come under the essential religious practice of Islam.’ Zaira contested this and other arguments in her post. Also Read - Will Probe Karnataka Student's Death In Ukraine, Says Russian Envoy
She further wrote, “Stacking this bias against Muslim women and setting up systems where they should have to decide between education and hijab or to give up either is an absolute injustice. You’re attempting to compel them to make a very specific choice that feeds your agenda and then criticising them while they’re imprisoned in what you’ve constructed. There is no other option to encourage them to choose differently. What is this if not a bias with people who confirm it acting in support of it? On top of all this, building a facade that all this is being done in the name of empowerment is even worse when it is quite exactly the opposite of that. Sad (sic).”
Zaira received a lot of thank-yous, hearts and gratitude in the comments of her post. One user commented, “Harsh reality… I salute u… May Allah guide all of us…. Stay blessed ❤ (sic),” another wrote, “Chalo kisi ko to sahi masla pata h choice or obligation me fark hota h..my body my choice wala hisab yahn ni h (sic).” Check out the full post here:
In a country where there are already popular patriarchal setups and traditional ways that don’t allow a girl child to step out of her house and study, any argument or system that further encourages the choice of not educating them is simply adding to the notion that women will always have to fight for a basic right. Education suffers in this battle of state vs religion! Your thoughts?