Zaira Wasim tweets in support of Niqab, leaves internet divided

Former actor Zaira Wasim had long ago declared her disinterest in pursuing acting as it failed to coincide with her religious beliefs, and since has advocated for Muslim women's rights.

Hyderabad:Reacting to a post by a social media user, National Award-winning actor Zaira Wasim wrote in favour of a woman's choice to wear a hijab. The actor left the film industry in 2019 after a short stint of only three films, claiming that the profession was incompatible with her beliefs.

Taking to Twitter, she shared a netizen's post showing an image of a woman consuming food without removing her niqab, along with the caption: "Is this a human being's choice?" In response to the question, Zaira wrote: "I just got back from a wedding. I ate exactly as shown. It was all my decision. Even though everyone around me continued urging me to remove my niqab, I didn't. We are not doing it for you."

Her tweet was widely retweeted, once again igniting the hijab controversy. Many social media users came out in support of her, however, there were no fewer people who criticised her. Supporting her views, a user wrote: "May Allah give you more power and dignity to follow your religion. Ameen." In contrast to this, another user wrote: "Now what’s niqab?? Hijab burkha and now this!! New variant??"

Another user tweeted: "Respect for you. Respect for the sister who is in pucture and eating under veil." On the other hand, another user commented: "Shackles that make one slave. Even a bird starts liking cage." Prior to this, Zaira also spoke up on the hijab controversy, stating that it was an injustice to ban it and that she resisted the entire system of women being harassed for carrying out a religious commitment. Now, the Dangal actor has come out in favour of a woman's choice to wear the niqab.

On June 30, 2019, Zaira declared her "disassociation" from the acting industry, stating that she was unhappy with the work since it clashed with her faith and religion. In a comprehensive Facebook post, the Kashmiri-born former actor stated, "though I may fit here perfectly, I do not belong here." Zaira was most recently seen in Shonali Bose's The Sky Is Pink, alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Farhan Akhtar.