Shabana Azmi calls out Kangana for her controversial comments on hijab row
On Thursday, Kangana Ranaut, known for making controversial statements, commented on Karnataka's hijab row. On Friday, Shabana Azmi responded to Kangana's statement in a post
Veteran actor Shabana Azmi has called out Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut for her recent comments on the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka.
Earlier, Shabana's husband lyricist Javed Akhter also expressed his opinion and said that while he was never in favour of burqa or hijab, he condemns any sort of 'hooliganism' in the name of protests.
Taking to her Instagram on Thursday, Kangana shared her reaction on the ongoing hijab controversy that erupted in Karnataka over whether students should be permitted to wear hijab (a headscarf worn by Muslim women) in educational institutions or not. Kangana shared a post by author Anand Ranganathan and wrote, "If you want to show courage, show it by not wearing burqa in Afghanistan. Learn to break free, not cage yourself."
On Friday, sharing a snippet of Kangana's post on her official Instagram handle, Shabana questioned, "Correct me if I'm wrong but Afghanistan is a theocratic state and when I last checked India was a secular democratic republic?!!"
One person commented on Shabana's post, "We cannot educate people, thank you ma'm." Another one said, "She doesn't understands the difference perhaps!" While one added, "Not only the largest democracy (on paper) but also the largest diversity." Lashing out at Kangana, one person said, "There is no point in expecting anything sensible or logical from Kangana."
On Wednesday, Javed shared his views on the hijab row and wrote, "I have never been in favour of Hijab or Burqa. I still stand by that, but at the same time, I have nothing but deep contempt for these mobs of hooligans who are trying to intimidate a small group of girls and that too unsuccessfully. Is this their idea of 'MANLINESS'. What a pity."
The protests in Karnataka began last month when a few students of the Government Girls PU college in Udupi alleged that they were not allowed in classes for wearing hijab. Since then, several incidents of unrest were witnessed in the state. The Karnataka government on February 5 issued an order mandating a dress code in all schools and colleges, with a ban on clothes that "disturb equality, integrity and public law and order". The issue reached the Karnataka High Court this week, but the court declined to pass any interim order Wednesday and referred the case to a larger bench.