In yet another controversial remark concerning the modesty of women, Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid in Kolkata, Syed Mohammad Nurur R Barkat, has said that young blooded men are bound to get “excited” if girls are not properly dressed.
In an interview on national TV, he elaborated how a girl should be dressed, stirring anger amongst feminists and women empowerment civil society organisations.
Explaining the design of a ‘ganji’. He said that a ganji can be a “respected” ganji but if a ganji is somehow exposing the frontal and falling from the neckline in a certain way it is bound to catch some eyes.
“Girls these days wear too short dresses. We are not stopping them from wearing dresses but, they should avoid wearing short clothes to save themselves from the lust of men,” he was quoted as saying.
He also said that women themselves should not like it when any portion of their body is naked as it catches the eyes of ‘havas ke shikaris’, which is a common term used in B-grade Hindi movies.
Asserting that boys get excited on seeing girls in short dresses, he added that girls should dress up decently to save themselves from the lust of men.
He also said that short dresses result into rape and murder.
Earlier on January 13, he had dictated dress code for women, saying Hindu or Muslim, Indian women should veil themselves, ascribing to "Hindustani culture".
Prior to this, on January 7, he had issued a ‘fatwa’ against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi while accusing him of “bluffing” the people through demonetisation. This evoked a sharp reaction from the BJP which demanded his arrest.
Under the fatwa, he offered a reward of Rs 25 lakh to anyone who will “cut off PM Narendra Modi’s beard, shave his head and smear him with black ink”
