'Muslim women can be photographed without veil'

Muzaffarnagar, Feb 1: In the wake of the stir over the Supreme Court aksing the Muslim women to chose between burqas and voting rights, a Shia cleric said that the Islamic law permitted the women to remove their veils under special circumstances.

Maulana Kalbe Jawaad, who is also a member of Muslim Personal Law Board, on Monday, Feb 1 said that being phographed without that veil for the voter ID is similar to them being photographed for the passports for the holy Haj pilgrimage.

On Jan 22, the apex court aked the Muslim women to chose between religious sentiments and constitutional rights.

"Religious sentiments cannot override statutory rule. voting is a statutory right and if you want to vote your photograph is necessary," the court said.

“If someone comes to vote in a burqa and the photograph was also taken with a veil covering the face, how would anyone identify the voter?'' the court said arguing that the veil hindered identification of the voter.

OneIndia News