{"id":"f-73cd9b4b27-26729c33-16f4-504f-abbb-02c694955db8","title":"‘I strongly condemn it’: Javed Akhtar on Nitish Kumar pulling down woman’s hijab","description":"Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar issued a strong clarification after an old video of him questioning the logic behind veiling resurfaced online amid the Nitish Kumar hijab row. Distancing himself from the Bihar chief minister’s actions, Akhtar condemned the incident and said Nitish Kumar owed the woman an unconditional apology.","timestamp":1766054998,"category":"national_v_two","headline":"‘I strongly condemn it’: Javed Akhtar on Nitish Kumar pulling down woman’s hijab","modifiedHeadline":"Javed Akhtar Slams Nitish Over Hijab Incident","subCategories":["scid_f9e06305"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"7b48871c-c993-4956-b43d-6f46f8e1b036","bundleTitle":"Today In India","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"386","fcSummary":"A video of Javed Akhtar questioning face coverings resurfaced amid the Nitish Kumar hijab row, sparking debate. Akhtar condemned Kumar's act of pulling down a woman's hijab, clarifying his stance against forced veiling while stressing it doesn't justify disrespect.","summary":"Amidst hijab row, Javed Akhtar slams Nitish Kumar's act of pulling down woman's hijab; demands unconditional apology from Bihar CM.","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/astrology/IN/en/news9/f-73cd9b4b27-26729c33-16f4-504f-abbb-02c694955db8","sourceUrl":"https://www.news9live.com/entertainment/celebrity/nitish-kumar-hijab-viral-video-javed-akhtar-reacts-2913088","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/BYy8uRosX_g0.webp","content":"

Nitish Kumar Hijab row: A resurfaced video of veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar questioning the logic behind women covering their faces has

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reignited a fierce public debate, days after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was caught on camera pulling down a woman’s hijab during an official event.

The renewed circulation of the clip has placed Javed’s long-held views on veiling under fresh scrutiny, even as he issued a sharp clarification condemning the chief minister’s conduct.

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Javed Akhtar responds after old video resurfaces on social media

The video in question was recorded during the third edition of the SOA Literary Festival, where Javed had responded to a question on whether covering one’s face made a woman less strong. While stressing that dignity in dressing applied equally to men and women, he questioned the rationale behind women being expected to hide their faces. “Why should you be ashamed of your face?” he had asked, adding that decent clothing did not require face coverings. “I believe that revealing clothes – whether men wear them or women – don’t look dignified,” he had said, while insisting that a woman did not need to cover her face to command respect.

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The veteran screenwriter went further by describing the practice as rooted in social conditioning. “But what makes her cover her face? What is so vulgar, obscene, undignified about her face that it is covered?” he had asked at the event. He argued that such choices were shaped by peer pressure, claiming that the idea of “choice” itself was often influenced by social approval.

As the clip gained traction online, Javed moved quickly to draw a clear line between his ideological position and the Bihar CM’s actions. In a strongly worded post shared on Thursday (December 18), he wrote, “Every one who knows me even in the most cursory manner knows how much I am against the traditional concept of Parda but it doesn’t mean that by any stretch of imagination I can accept what Mr Nitish Kumar has done to a Muslim lady doctor. I condemn it in very strong words. Mr Nitish Kumar owes an unconditional apology to the lady.”

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Javed Akhtar reacts to Nitish Kumar hijab row

Nitish Kumar Hijab row

The controversy stems from a recent appointment ceremony at Samvad, the Bihar Chief Minister’s secretariat, where more than 1,000 AYUSH doctors were issued appointment letters. When a newly recruited doctor, Nusrat Parveen, approached the stage wearing a hijab, Nitish Kumar was seen questioning it and pulling the veil down. The incident, captured on video, showed officials attempting to intervene as the visibly startled doctor was ushered away.

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The moment triggered widespread outrage. Several public figures, including former actorZaira Wasim, were seen demanding an apology, with the Dangal actress stating that a woman’s dignity was not a “prop” to be handled on a public stage.

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‘I strongly condemn it’: Javed Akhtar on Nitish Kumar pulling down woman’s hijab

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