Gujarat Woman Sarpanch Removes Veil on Minister’s Request, Sets an Example

Meenaba Zala was requested by the education minister to remove her veil or ghunghat while on stage.

In a surprise gesture, Gujarat's Minister for Education, Jitu Vaghani, requested Meenaba Zala, the sarpanch of Ranjtej village in the state's Mehsana district, to remove her veil before he accepted her felicitation at a public event in the region, reported The Indian Express.

The villagers had gathered at the school to launch the annual school enrolment and 'Kanya Kelavani' schemes (bringing up of girls) when the minister made the request to Meenaba, the village's first-ever female sarpanch.

Meenaba was reportedly seated on the floor next to other veiled women, while the men seated on plastic chairs right next to them.

“If the elders allow, I would request Meenaba to come out of this riwaaz (custom).

Jitu Vaghani as per The Indian Express

'Look Around Where the World Has Reached'

According to the report, when one of the men implied that "Rajput women do not remove their veil", the minister responded, “What does caste have to do with this? Darbar, Patel, Vaniya or Brahmin… see how happy the women are and the blessings they will give you.”

“Maan maryaada (respect and modesty) is alright but when you are a Sarpanch you have to come out of these traditions. Let the village decide. Look around, where the world has reached… by doing this (removing veil) we do not lose our maan maryaada. Follow everything but at home. I do not say this riwaaz is bad but we have to change as per the time and come out of this so that we can move forward.”

Vaghani said, The Indian Express reported

When a village elder agreed with the minister, the sarpanch removed her veil. A chair was also arranged for her on the stage.

“The minister is right. We should keep our ghunghat at home and need to come out of this (tradition). We are anyway behind our veils at home but we need to move forward with time,” Meenaba, told The Indian Express. Six months ago, she defeated four male candidates to get elected.

"I really wanted to join the police force but could not as my brother was strict. So, I was made to drop out of college in the first year of BCom," she told the newspaper.

(With inputs from The Indian Express)