LAHORE/PATNA (Web Desk) Politicians, activists and social media users in both India and Pakistan have strongly condemned Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after a video showed him pulling a Muslim woman’s niqab during a public event in Patna.
The incident occurred on Monday at a government ceremony where Kumar was distributing appointment letters to AYUSH doctors. As Nusrat Parveen, a Unani doctor, stepped onto the stage to receive her certificate, the chief minister gestured for her to remove her niqab. Before she could respond, he reached out and pulled it himself, exposing her face.
ہیومن رائٹس کونسل آف پاکستان بھارت کے صوبہ بہار کے وزیرِ اعلیٰ نتیش کمار کے اس نہایت شرمناک، قابلِ مذمت اور غیر انسانی اقدام کی سخت ترین الفاظ میں مذمت کرتی ہے، جس میں ایک سرکاری تقریب کے دوران ایک مسلم خاتون ڈاکٹر کا نقاب/حجاب زبردستی ہٹایا گیا، جب وہ اپنی تقرری کا سرٹیفیکیٹ… pic.twitter.com/QRKZm4pBA2
— Human Rights Council of Pakistan (@HRCPakistan) December 16, 2025
Parveen appeared visibly startled, while people on stage — including Bihar Home Minister Samrat Choudhary — made only feeble attempts to intervene. Others were seen laughing, treating the incident as an awkward moment rather than a serious violation of personal autonomy.
The video sparked widespread backlash, with critics calling the act humiliating, invasive and emblematic of growing disrespect toward Muslims in India. Calls for an apology and Kumar’s resignation quickly spread across social media.
The Human Rights Council of Pakistan condemned the act as “highly shameful, reprehensible and inhumane,” urging Indian authorities to conduct an immediate, transparent investigation and to formally apologise to the affected woman. The group also called on international human rights bodies to take notice.
Former Indian actor Zaira Wasim demanded an unconditional apology, saying a woman’s dignity is not a prop. Indian politicians, including Priyanka Chaturvedi and Lok Sabha member Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, also condemned the incident, with some questioning Kumar’s fitness to hold office.
Many commentators stressed that removing a woman’s niqab without consent constitutes harassment, regardless of debates around veiling. They noted that the casual manner in which the incident unfolded — on a state-sponsored stage, amid laughter — made it especially disturbing.
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