Heartening! In a First, Haryana Khap Body Asks Women Not To Wear 'Ghoonghat'

Sonepat: Haryana's Khap Panchayat who has always been in news for all the wrong reasons may have something to redeem itself. In a rather surprising and progressive move, women have been asked by a khap body to discontinue wearing 'ghoonghats' both inside and outside their homes. This is for the first time that such a Khap body has taken such a decision. The Malik Gathwala Khap, one of the largest and most influential in Haryana, pronounced this decision at Sonepat’s Gohana town during an event organised to mark the birth anniversary of its ancestral leader on Monday evening. Baljeet Malik, 66, chief of Malik Gathwala Khap said, “Time has come to end the age-old traditions that are not relevant today. Expecting women to remain confined under veils is foolishness. It blocks their vision and does not let them breathe properly. Happiness and peace come to those houses where daughters-in-law are loved like real daughters.” The Khap said that women can keep the scarf on their heads to show their respect towards elders.