After Javed Akhtar, here's what actress Celina Jaitley has to say about 'Burqa ban'

A few days back, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar said that he was not averse to enacting a law banning the burqa if it was accompanied with similar action against the 'ghunghat' system prevalent among women in Rajasthan. Akhtar's comment came in the wake of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece urging the Modi government to emulate Sri Lanka in banning the burqa on grounds of national security.

"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," Akhtar told reporters in Bhopal. "I feel that `ghunghat' should go and the burqa should go. I will be happy," he added.

Feminist Taslima Nasreen also commented on the issue and wrote on her Twitter handle: "A naked woman lying on her back on a beach- it's not obscene to me. A woman walking on the street wearing a burqa from head to toe- it's obscene to me. Naked girl doesn't believe her body is obscene, burqa girl believes her body is obscene. Body is never obscene, obscene is mind.

Replying to her, actress Celina Jaitley wrote: "I respect u in every sense of the way, but I DO NOT AGREE with U,a woman wearing burkhaa does not think her body is obscene,none of my abaya/burkhaa wearing Muslim friends think their body is obscene some of them are even spartan warriors,it’s a religious choice,we must respect" [sic]

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Coming back to Javed Akhtar, the Bollywood veteran said, "Brother, I have little knowledge of the burqa as there were working women in my family and I haven't seen the practice at my home."

"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," said the celebrated screenwriter, a Padma Bhushan awardee.

READ | Karni Sena Threatens Javed Akhtar Over His 'ban Ghoonghat Too If You Want To Ban Burqa' Argument, Demands Apology. Read Here

In the editorial in party mouthpiece `Saamana', the Sena had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to follow Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena's footsteps and ban the burqa and other face-covering garments in India considering the "threat" they pose to the nation's security.

Sri Lanka's decision came in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror attacks in the island nation that killed over 250 people. As the editorial created a flutter and drew a sharp reaction from various quarters, a senior Sena leader said the editorial was not the official stand of the party, which is an ally of the BJP.

(With Inputs from PTI)