Amid the ongoing hijab controversy in the country, several celebrities have weighed in on the debate over whether or not female students should be allowed to wear Islamic head covering to schools and colleges. A day after veteran actress and BJP MP Hema Malini shared her views on the same, actress Kangana Ranaut shared her take.
Taking to her Instagram Story, Kangana, on Thursday, shared a screenshot of author Anand Ranganathan’s tweet, which read: “Iran. 1972 and now. From Bikini to Burqa in fifty years flat. Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it.” The Thalaivii actress also shared her opinion in the post. “If you want to show courage, show it by not wearing burqua in Afghanistan… Learn to break free not cage yourself,” she wrote alongside the screenshot.
Her post has apparently left a section of Twitter displeased. The IG Story also garnered the attention of veteran actress Shabana Azmi. Sharing a screenshot of Kangana’s post, Shabana wrote on the micro-blogging site: “Correct me if Im wrong but Afghanistan is a theocratic state and when I last checked India was a secular democratic republic ?!!
Meanwhile, a Twitter user wrote, “When people are happy being in hijab, so whats the point to argue for the one who is herself banned on twitter? Or is it another statement for being a part of controversy and attention?”
Another user replied to Shabana’s tweet by writing, “Please ma’am, don’t give her any attention. She thrives for it, she being away from Twitter is the best thing.”
Incidentally, Kangana and Shabana Azmi’s husband, noted lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar, are involved in a legal tussle. Akhtar had filed a defamation case against the actress in 2020.
On Thursday, Akhtar said that he has never been a supporter of hijab but he is enraged by those ‘intimidating’ girls wearing hijab amid the ongoing issue in Karnataka. “I have never been in favour of Hijab or Burqa. I still stand by that but at the same time, I have nothing but deep contempt for these mobs of hooligans who are trying to intimidate a small group of girls and that too unsuccessfully. Is this their idea of ‘manliness’. What a pity.”
When a netizen questioned his silence on the same, he replied, “Secular people like me have the right to oppose burqa and hijab (we have always done that) but not those who themselves have saffron shawls on their shoulders. Aren’t they of the same ideology that caused violence against Hindu girls in Mangalore for having coffee in a restaurant.”this their idea of ‘manliness’ . What a pity.”
