Srinagar: The Patna hijab row has now travelled nearly 1,800 km to the north west with Iltija Mufti, PDP leader and daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, registering a written complaint against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar at the Kothibagh police station in Srinagar on Friday.
“I’m writing to bring to your attention a vile incident which has caused immense distress and hurt amongst Muslims, especially women,” Iltija wrote in her complaint.
“A few days ago, we were watching with shock, horror and worry as Bihar’s CM Nitish Kumar pulled down the niqaab of a young Muslim doctor Nusrat Parveen in full public glare at a government function. What made matters worse was the unsettling reaction of the people around, including Bihar’s deputy CM who chuckled and watched with glee. The forceful stripping of her naqaab isn’t just a brutal assault on a Muslim lady but on the autonomy, identity and dignity of every Indian woman. The fact that it transpired at a time when political and economic disempowerment of Muslims all across India is even more disconcerting,” she stated.
“In the days following this shameful incident, we have witnessed with abject horror videos of miscreants pulling off hijabs of Muslim women across India. Perhaps a Chief Minister engaging in this vulgar act of indecency has now emboldened such lumpen elements giving them carte Blanche to humiliate & attack Muslim women,” Iltija alleged in her complaint.
“As a young Muslim woman, I am deeply worried about this, and so far, no concrete action has been taken in the matter. The BJP leaders are justifying Nitish Kumar’s indecency and condoning and celebrating it. Being a Chief Minister doesn’t exonerate an individual just because he enjoys political power and patronage,” she wrote, urging the SHO to immediately register an FIR against Kumar.
“We owe it to every Indian woman to protect her dignity. The choice to wear what she wants without fear, with her head held high. It is up to the police now, “but we have to do our bit”, Iltija said, according to The New Indian Express.
PDP women workers led by her had earlier staged a protest at the party headquarters against the Bihar CM.
“Instead of the Bihar CM apologising for his act, the BJP ministers are issuing vulgar statements,” Iltija had said there.
Union minister Giriraj Singh, while defending Kumar, had said that he had done “nothing wrong” and that it was the woman’s choice to refuse the job or “go to hell.”
Slamming the union minister for his statement, Iltija warned: “If you touch the hijab and veil of our women, you please remain ready for the consequences.”
“Instead of being apologetic, JDU and BJP is trying to justify what he did and it is totally wrong and criminal,” she added.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, former CM Mehbooba Mufti and other leaders of the state have slammed the Bihar CM for pulling down the veil of a Muslim doctor and asked him to apologise and step down.
While addressing the Friday congregation at historic Jama Masjid in Srinagar, Hurriyat leader and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also strongly condemned Kumar for pulling off the veil of a woman doctor, describing it as a grave violation of personal dignity and moral boundaries.
“No position of authority, power, or office grants the right to interfere with another person’s self-respect,” Mirwaiz said and emphasised that when dignity is violated in public, particularly by someone in authority it sends a deeply troubling message that power can override ethics and basic human values.
“Such diversions are mischievous, and further expose the bigoted mindset of those indulging in it and their limited understanding of Islam,” he added.
