New Delhi: Former actor Zaira Wasim has questioned the involvement of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board in an Independence Day programme at a school in Kashmir after a video showing young girls performing a dance surfaced online.
In a post on X, Zaira Wasim raised questions about whether a religious institution such as the Waqf Board should be associated with such performances.
She said her criticism was not directed at the children participating in the event, but at the institutional decision to organise or endorse the programme.
Zaira Wasim questioned why dance performances are often used as the default way of involving children, particularly girls, in public celebrations. She argued that educational institutions should instead provide children with opportunities to learn, create, discuss and contribute.
The video, reportedly from a Waqf Board-run school in Kashmir, has triggered debate on social media over the nature of the event and the role of a religious institution in such programmes.
The Waqf Board chief, Darakhshan Andrabi, has not publicly responded to Wasim’s criticism so far.Wasim, who rose to fame with films such as Dangal and Secret Superstar, left the film industry in 2019, citing conflicts between her acting career and her religious beliefs.
