Rahul Gandhi includes minor girl in hijab in his ‘Bharat Jodo’ container yatra, as global demonstrations against veil escalate
21 September, 2022 | Riya Girdhar
The Congress Party's 3,570-kilometer "Bharat Jodo Yatra" marched began on September 7 in Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu. The march will last five months and would take them through twelve states before ...
When Muslim women around the world freely protest the hijab mandate without fear of repercussions, the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi convey a message that they will continue to sacrifice the interests of Muslim women at the altar of hardline fundamentalists no matter what.
The Congress Party’s 3,570-kilometer “Bharat Jodo Yatra” marched began on September 7 in Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu. The march will last five months and would take them through twelve states before arriving in Srinagar. As the Congress Party fights for its survival, Rahul Gandhi, the party’s current supreme figure, is striving to soothe sectors of society who appear dissatisfied with Congress and garner support to resuscitate his dormant political fortunes.
In a similar endeavour, Rahul Gandhi enlisted the help of a little girl wearing a hijab while walking in the Yatra in Kerala, signifying support for the hijab at a time when the entire world is opposed to the terrible practise of suppressing women.
The image of Rahul Gandhi with a minor girl in a burkha was uploaded on the Congress Twitter account, implying that Rahul Gandhi approved of the garment that has been used as a tool of repression by Muslim fundamentalists.
This action by Congress comes at a time when thousands of women worldwide are opposing the restrictive practise of hijab. Women in Iran are publicly removing their headscarf in protest against the hijab’s imposition. Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died after being imprisoned for not covering her hair by Iranian officials. Amini was detained by Iran’s ‘Morality Police’ for wearing the Hijab in a ‘improper manner,’ because her hair was not totally covered. The ‘Morality Police’ detained and tortured her in a police van while transporting her to a detention centre for a “re-education class.” However, given the Congress party’s history, it will be easy to accept what Rahul Gandhi is advocating, namely repression.
Rahul Gandhi appeared to be serious when he declared that he was fighting the Indian state rather than any political party. Rahul Gandhi has resorted to defending the hijab, a practise that is extremely restrictive and also destructive to the social fabric of the country, after supporting a controversial Catholic priest with a long history of making provocative statements about Hindus and Indian heritage and culture. It wouldn’t be too difficult for Rahul Gandhi to spend evenings in beautiful containers outfitted with Air Conditioners and other amenities, while ingratiating himself and his party with patriarchal Islamists who wish to strip women of their agency and condition them to wear hijabs.
Muslim women around the world have been protesting against hijabs, which Islamic extremists consider to be a need in public life. Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and placed the hijab requirement on women, Afghan women have been resisting the diktat, which they claim deprives them of agency and is a symbol of Islamic sexism. Wearing a hijab in public has long been a contentious issue. Several Muslim women from various socioeconomic backgrounds have spoken out against the imposition of the headscarf. Nonetheless, it is common for Congress to use a contentious issue to gain votes and, hence, power.
Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi has already stated publicly that his party is gunning for India’s entire infrastructure, saying that the Centre has gained control of all democratic institutions in the country. He has stated on multiple occasions that he is challenging the Indian system rather than any political party. Such actions by Rahul Gandhi, in which he supports a backward practise such as the hijab, validate his words about subverting the Indian system.
The message arrives at a critical juncture in the case’s proceedings before the Supreme Court. When Muslim women around the world freely protest the hijab mandate without fear of repercussions, the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi convey a message that they will continue to support Muslim fundamentalists as they have in the past. Whether it was the Shah Bano case in the 1980s or the hijab row in 2022, the Congress party has made it obvious that it would continue to sacrifice the interests of Muslim women at the altar of extreme Islamists.