Hijab is for hiding the beauty of girls when they come of age, said the Karnataka Congress MLA>
The rape rate is highest in India because some women don't wear hijab, said a Congress MLA in Karnataka amid a raging controversy over the use of the headscarf in the state's schools and colleges.
"Hijab means 'parda' (veil) in Islam. It is for hiding the beauty of girls when they come of age. Today you can see that the rape rate is the highest in our country. What do you think is the reason for this? The reason is that several women don't wear hijab," said the MLA, Zameer Ahmed.
Going further with his atrocious logic, the Congress MLA, speaking to news agency ANI, said, "But, wearing hijab is not compulsory, only those who want to protect themselves and those who don't want to show their beauty to everyone wear it. This has been in practice for years".
What began as one school issuing an edict apparently to protect secularism in the classroom has now escalated into protests and counter-protests across Karnataka, spreading elsewhere in the country and beyond.
The protests in Karnataka began after six students of the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district alleged last month that they had been barred from classes for wearing headscarf.
Tensions frayed further as some students in Udupi and elsewhere entered classrooms with saffron shawls to show their support of their institutions' hijab ban.
The Karnataka High Court on Friday, in an interim order, prohibited students to avoid wearing the hijab, saffron shawls or any religious clothing in class "until further orders". The court was hearing various pleas challenging a ban on hijab in the state. The hearing of the petitions will continue on February 14.