Former actress Zaira Wasim posted about how it is purely her choice if she chooses to eat food without removing her niqab. She was reacting to a follower’s tweet that had a photo of a woman eating with her hand while still wearing the niqab that completely covered her face. While most of her followers supported her on Twitter, some mentioned that one could remove the niqab while eating food. Read also: Zaira Wasim reacts to hijab controversy: ‘I, as a woman who wears hijab, resent this whole system’
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The photo was shared by a Twitter user with the caption: ‘Is it a human choice?’ Reacting to the tweet, Zaira tweeted on Sunday: “I just attended a wedding. I ate exactly like this. Purely my choice. Even when everyone around me was nagging me about taking off the niqab. I didn’t.”
Zaira finds support on Twitter
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Many of her followers hailed her for her views on the niqab. One person commented, “We’re not doing it for you. Deal with it. Exactly @ZairaWasimmm loved your reply. Purely our choice,” wrote another, “Stop telling her what to do and what not to do, it’s her life and her belief so leave her alone.” Another wrote, “May Allah give you more strength and dignity to follow your religion. Ameen.”
A Twitter user also suggested, “Aurat ko aurat se parda nahi hai (women are not required to hide their faces from women). You can remove your hijab or nose if you are in a separate women’s section. The woman and my mother also wears a hijab but when they are in a special women’s section eating with other women they take it off and eat peacefully #DontMakeItComplex #Hijab.”
Zaira on Hijab ban in Karnataka schools
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Last year, Zaira had spoken out against the hijab ban in Karnataka schools. She had said on Twitter: “Holding this prejudice against Muslim women and creating systems where they have to decide between education and hijab or abandoning one is a complete injustice. You try to force them to make a very specific choice that feeds your agenda, and then criticize them while they’re imprisoned in what you’ve constructed.”
Zaira’s previous film works
Zaira made her Bollywood debut with Dangal starring Aamir Khan. She was 16 at the time. She starred in two more films, including Secret Superstar (2017) and The Sky is Pink (2019) before retiring from acting. She said her acting career conflicts with her religious beliefs and faith.
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