'Ghoonghat Hatao' campaign must be launched: Ashok Gehlot

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday said that "Ghoonghat Hatao" (say no to veil) campaign should be launched across the country and also questioned the logic behind the use of burqa (veil worn by Muslim women).

"Ghoonghat Hatao campaign must be launched. Women of the country must step forward. The time has come to put an end to this practice," he said at an event here.

He said that more than women, men should step forward to eradicate the practice. "Women have to cover their faces under the pressure of men in this patriarchal society."

The chief minister also questioned the logic behind covering face either by ghoonghat or burqa in the progressive society.

"Be it ghoonghat or burqa, in a new age where the country has reached moon and is going to mars, it does not make sense," he added.

Gehlot added, "This is a scientific era. Imagine what a woman who is under the veil goes through within the veiled world, and in and out of her family."

On November 6, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had urged that the custom of 'ghoonghat' must be eradicated as the time has 'changed'.

"Society does not have the right to confine a woman to ghoonghat. When a woman is called Durga, she should also be allowed to contribute to the creation of the country. Now the times have changed, women have to move forward courageously. The government will always stand by you," Gehlot had said in a Hindi tweet.

( With inputs from ANI )