Mumbai: All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday expressed confidence that a hijab-wearing woman would one day become India’s prime minister, citing the Constitution’s guarantee of equal rights to all citizens. He contrasted this with Pakistan’s constitutional framework, which restricts top constitutional posts to members of a single religion.
His remarks triggered a strong reaction from the BJP, which dismissed the statement as misleading and irresponsible, arguing that many Muslim women themselves oppose the practice of wearing the hijab, TNIE reported.
Owaisi made the comments while addressing an election rally in Maharashtra ahead of the Solapur Municipal Corporation elections scheduled for January 15. He said that while Pakistan’s Constitution allows only people from one religion to become the prime minister or president, India’s Constitution, drafted under the leadership of B R Ambedkar, permits any citizen to hold positions such as prime minister, chief minister or mayor.
He further said he believed that even if he and the present generation were no longer alive, the country would eventually see a hijab-clad woman rise to the office of prime minister.
Responding to his remarks, the BJP said many Muslim women oppose the hijab and pointed to protests by women in Iran and other Islamic countries against compulsory dresscodes.