Women get raped when they don't wear hijab, says Karnataka Congress MLA Zameer Ahmed

Amid the ongoing row over hijab in Karnataka, state Congress leader Zameer Ahmed on Sunday claimed that India records highest number of rape cases because women don't do "purdah" or veil their face.

In a video shared by news agency ANI, Ahmed could be seen as saying, "The concept of hijab is to keep girls, when they grow up, behind a 'purdah' [veil] to hide their beauty. Their beauty should not be visible. I think India has the highest



number of rape cases in the world. It is because the women are not doing 'purdah'."

“Hijab means ‘Parda’ in Islam… to hide the beauty of women… Women get raped when they don’t wear Hijab", the Congress leader said. Ahmed had earlier termed the controversy a conspiracy by the ruling BJP in an attempt to divide communities.

"Wearing of hijab is not compulsory and this has been the practice for years," he added.