Hubballi/Dharwad (Karnataka): Amid the ongoing hijab controversy, Karnataka Congress leader Zameer Ahmed on Sunday said Hijab means 'Parda' in Islam and "women get raped when they don't wear hijab".
Speaking to the media at Hubballi, Zameer Ahmed said, "Hijab means 'Parda' in Islam. Girls, when they grow up, should cover their faces with veils to hide their beauty. I think that India has the highest number of rape cases in the world. What is the reason? The reason is that they don't cover their face. Wearing a hijab is not compulsory but this has been in practice for years."
The Congress leader was speaking in the context of Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan saying that hijab practice is not written in the Quran.
Zameer Ahmed's clarification on his statement
After the statement in Hubballi, MLA Zameer Ahmed clarified in Dharwad later, "I said my opinion. I don't know about others."
The beauty of Muslim women should not be seen by others. The rate of rape cases in the country is high. Muslim women are not raped if they wear the hijab. And women have been wearing the hijab for the past many years."
"Some of us also do not wear hijab. Wearing a hijab is not mandatory. But, Muslim women have been told to wear a hijab for a safety purpose."
He challenged him to come to a debate on the rape rate in the country with proper information.
The hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state alleged that they had been barred from attending classes wearing hijab.
