Muslim woman faces assault, niqab pulling at Indian hospital
Muslim woman says male guard pulled her niqab, pushed her and threatened to film her while she sought government health service in central India
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A Muslim woman has accused a male security guard at a government hospital in central India of pulling her niqab, pushing her and threatening to film her while she was trying to access a public health service, triggering anger over treatment of visibly Muslim women in state institutions.
Shaista, a resident of Khargone district in Madhya Pradesh, said incident occurred at Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital in Indore while she was attempting to obtain an Ayushman Bharat Health Account, or ABHA, digital health identification card.
According to the local media, Shaista said guard tried to push her out, pulled at her niqab and threatened to record her after confrontation began during the registration process.
“I was trying to get the ABHA card. The guard tried to push me out, pulled my niqab, misbehaved with me and threatened me that he would shoot a video of me,” she told local media.
Shaista said she confronted guard, telling him he had no right to touch her or treat her in that manner. She alleged another woman working or present in outpatient department then joined confrontation and also began misbehaving with her.
Niqab is an Islamic face covering worn by some Muslim women that leaves eyes visible. For women who choose to wear it as part of their faith, forcibly pulling it can amount to deeply humiliating interference with religious practice and bodily privacy, particularly when done by an unrelated man.
Allegations have therefore generated anger beyond conduct of individual hospital employee, with critics demanding to know how a Muslim woman wearing religious clothing could allegedly face such treatment while accessing services at a government institution.
Social media users called on hospital administration to preserve and examine CCTV footage and publicly establish what happened, with some demanding disciplinary action if Shaista’s allegations are confirmed.
Incident comes amid growing scrutiny of restrictions and hostility directed at visible expressions of Muslim identity in India. Muslim women’s clothing has become a particular political battleground, with disputes over hijab and other Islamic dress reaching schools, colleges and courts in recent years.
Such controversies have unfolded alongside broader concerns over anti-Muslim discrimination under India’s increasingly majoritarian political climate.
Madhya Pradesh is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and has repeatedly drawn criticism over state actions affecting Muslims, including demolition drives and restrictions surrounding religious practices.
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