Hijab Row debate is on a high. Now Kangana Ranaut is making headlines again with her comment on this controversy emerged in Karnataka. This time she reacted to the ongoing unrest whether students should be permitted to wear hijab (a headscarf worn by Muslim women) in educational institutions or not.
The Karnataka High Court on Thursday restrained students from wearing hijab or any religious attire till the matter is pending with the court.
Kangana Ranaut shared her strong views on the on Instagram Stories, writing: “If you want to show courage, show it by not wearing burqa in Afghanistan. Learn to break free, not cage yourself.” She re-shared a post, originally shared by author Anand Ranganathan, who has been actively speaking in favour of banning religious dress codes in schools, calling the practice ‘draconian, misogynist, oppressive.’
The post shared by Kangana was captioned: “Iran. 1973 and now. From bikini to burqa in fifty years flat. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” It showed two contrasting images of women in swimwear and burqa, almost 50 years apart.
The protests in Karnataka began last month over Hijab 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. Earlier this week, a video of a group of slogan-shouting men, advancing towards a female student in burqa, was widely criticised on social media. Unperturbed, the female student was seen standing her ground before entering the college building.
Celebrities such as Kamal Haasan, Richa Chadha, Swara Bhasker and Onir, among others, have also reacted to the ongoing protests in Karnataka, condemning the “shameful state of affairs”. Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar, who does not see eye to eye with Kangana, also tweeted on Thursday that while he is not in favour of hijab or burqa in educational spaces, he abhors ‘hooliganism’ in the name of ‘manliness’.