SRINAGAR: Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Molvi Muhammad Umar Farooq on Friday condemned the act of the Bihar Chief Minister allegedly pulling off the veil of a woman doctor, describing it as a serious violation of personal dignity and moral boundaries, and said authority cannot be used to override ethics and basic human values.
Addressing the Friday congregation at the historic JamIa Masjid in Srinagar, the Mirwaiz said that no position of power or public office gives anyone the right to interfere with another person’s self-respect. He said such conduct, particularly when carried out publicly by someone in authority, sends a disturbing message that power can supersede ethical conduct.
The Mirwaiz also criticised what he described as attempts by certain political parties and sections of the media to justify the incident by framing it as an issue of women’s empowerment and shifting the focus to the hijab. He said such narratives were misleading and amounted to deliberate diversion from the core issue of dignity and consent.
He said portraying the incident as a debate on empowerment exposed what he termed a bigoted mindset and a limited understanding of Islam. According to the Mirwaiz, dragging religious attire into the discussion was an effort to normalise an act that should instead be unequivocally condemned.
The Mirwaiz said that for Muslim women who observe the hijab, it is a matter of faith, identity and personal choice, and has never been an obstacle to education, professional achievement or social participation. He said women who observe hijab have excelled across the world in various fields, demonstrating that empowerment is rooted in opportunity and effort rather than appearance.
He further said that propriety demanded a public apology from the Bihar Chief Minister to the woman concerned and called on those justifying the act to stop imposing ideological interpretations or defending actions under what he described as the garb of so-called progress.
