Thrown Out Of Shop For Wearing Jeans, Not Burqa, Alleges Assam Woman

A girl was allegedly shamed and kicked out of a store by a shopkeeper because she was wearing jeans and not a burqa in a case of moral policing in Assam's Biswanath district last week. The man and two others, who were also accused of assaulting the girl's father when he went to protest about the incident, have been arrested.

According to police sources, the incident took place at a mobile phone accessories store in Biswanath Chariali, around 230 km from Guwahati, where the girl had gone to buy a pair of earphones.

The owner of the shop, Nurul Amin, not only denied her service but also allegedly shamed the girl for wearing jeans instead of a burqa. He then pushed her out of the shop, police sources said.

"My daughter was misbehaved and kicked out from Nurul's shop for wearing jeans instead of a burqa. These people are trying to bring the Taliban system in Assam and forcing girls to wear burqa and Hijab," the girl's father said.

"We are born and brought up in Assam and following Assamese culture. My daughter is pursuing BCA (Bachelor of Computer Application). She has done her studies from a government school, not in private. She studied in Assamese culture but now these people are trying to make her follow the Taliban style by wearing burqa and Hijab," he said.

Speaking to journalists, the girl said, "When I reached the shop, the owner who is an elderly person told me that if I visited his house in jeans, it would impact his family because his daughter-in-law wears a burqa or hijab."

The girl returned home and complained about the incident to her family. When her father went to the shop to protest, he said, he was beaten up by family members of the shopkeeper.

"The incident took place on October 25. We have arrested the main accused Nurul Amin, Suffiqul Islam and Rafiqul Islam and forwarded them to jail. The family members filed an FIR (First Information Report) at the Biswanath Chariali police station and based on the complaint we have arrested them," senior police officer Rajen Singh said.