"Rapes Because Women Don't Wear Hijab": Karnataka Congress MLA's Shocker

What began as one school issuing an edict apparently to protect secularism in the classroom has now escalated into protests and counter-protests across Karnataka, spreading elsewhere in the country and beyond.

The rape rate is highest in India because some women don't wear hijab, said a Congress MLA in Karnataka amid a raging controversy over the use of the headscarf in the state's schools and colleges. #WATCH | Hijab means 'Parda' in Islam...to hide the beauty of women...women get raped when they don't wear Hijab: Congress leader Zameer Ahmed on #HijabRow in Hubli, Karnataka pic.twitter.com/8Ole8wjLQF

"Hijab means 'parda' (veil) in Islam. It is for hiding the beauty of girls when they come of age. Today you can see that the rape rate is the highest in our country. What do you think is the reason for this? The reason is that several women don't wear hijab," said the MLA, Zameer Ahmed.

Going further with his atrocious logic, the Congress MLA, speaking to news agency ANI, said, "But, wearing hijab is not compulsory, only those who want to protect themselves and those who don't want to show their beauty to everyone wear it. This has been in practice for years".