Hindi poet and Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar urged that ban on burqa should be accompanied by a ban on ‘Ghoonghat’ also. He was replying to the Shiv Sena’s demand to ban the burqa in India.
The veteran lyricist said to a national media that “If you want to bring a law banning burqa here (in India) and if it is someone’s view I have no objection. But before the last phase of election in Rajasthan, this government should announce a ban on the practice of ‘ghunghat’ (covering of the face by Hindu women) in that state”.
“I feel that ‘ghunghat’ should go and the burqa should go. I will be happy. Iraq is a very orthodox Muslim country but the women there do not cover their faces. The law in Sri Lanka (now), too, forbids face cover,” Akhtar added.
A ghoonghat is a veil or headscarf, originating from the Indian subcontinent, worn by some married Hindu, Jain and Sikh women to cover their head, and often their face. Generally, aanchal or pallu, the loose end of a sari is pulled over the head and face to act as a ghunghat.
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