Amid the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka, state Congress leader Zameer Ahmed said on Sunday that India records a high number of rape cases because women here don't wear hijab.
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“Girls, when they grow up, should cover their face with veil to hide their beauty. I think that India has the highest number of rape cases in the world. What is the reason? The reason is that they don't cover their face. Wearing a hijab is not compulsory, and this has been the practice for years,” Ahmed said, according to news agency ANI.
Ahmed's remarks come a day before a three-judge bench of the Karnataka high court resumes hearing petitions challenging the ‘hijab ban’ imposed by the state government in educational institutes. Also on Monday, schools up to 10th standard will reopen in the southern state; however, the closure of degree and diploma colleges has been extended till February 16.
{{/usCountry}}Ahmed's remarks come a day before a three-judge bench of the Karnataka high court resumes hearing petitions challenging the ‘hijab ban’ imposed by the state government in educational institutes. Also on Monday, schools up to 10th standard will reopen in the southern state; however, the closure of degree and diploma colleges has been extended till February 16.
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On February 8, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai ordered closure of educational institutes as violence broke out in several districts during protests for and against wearing hijab on campuses.
In December last year, former Karnataka legislative assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, who is also from the Congress, triggered massive outrage for what he later described as an ‘off the cuff’ remark on rape.
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