"A woman's dignity and modesty are not props to toy with, least of all on a public stage," said Dangal actor Zaira Wasim in an X post after a video of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulling a hijab down from a woman's face during a government event in Patna went viral on social media.
The 25-year-old actor, who quit Bollywood in 2019 as it "interfered with her faith and religion", demanded an "unconditional apology" from Nitish Kumar.
"A woman's dignity and modesty are not props to toy with. Least of all on a public stage. As a Muslim woman, watching another woman's niqab being pulled at so casually, accompanied by that nonchalant smile, was so infuriating. Power does not grant permission to violate boundaries. @NitishKumar owes that woman an unconditional apology," Zaira Wasim wrote in an X post on Monday.
The video shows the 74-year-old JD(U) chief handing a certificate to an AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) doctor during the event on Monday and motioning to her to remove her hijab. Before the woman could react, Nitish Kumar is seen reaching out and pulling down the hijab, exposing her mouth and chin.
The Bihar chief minister has courted controversy for the incident, with the Congress calling his actions "shameless" and the RJD questioning his mental state.
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