Shaharbanath Kottayam: A woman civic body administrator from Kerala has alleged that she was not allowed to wear a headscarf during a function attended by prime minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad.
Shaharbanath, president, Muppainad panchayat in Wayanad, said she had to face the ill-treatment when she was in Ahmedabad to attend a program in connection with the central government's Swachh Bharat Mission.
Shaharbanath said she as well as two women local body representatives from Kasaragod were prevented from entering the venue citing security reasons. Shaharbanath attended the program without a headscarf for nearly an hour. The headscarf was returned to her later. As a dispute erupted between the women and security personnel, officials of Suchitwa Mission in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts intervened and tried to convince the organizers that headscarf is a religious symbol and the women should be allowed to wear it.
The women were part of a 115-member delegation invited to attend the Swachch Shakti 2017 camp.
Indian Union Muslim League leader K.P.A. Majeed said the incident indicated the religious intolerance prevailing in BJP-ruled Gujarat and urged all secular political parties to stand united against such fascist trends.
