Swara Bhaskar Faces Backlash For Meeting Maulana Sajjad Nomani, Criticized For Stance On Women’s Education

Film actor from Bollywood Swara Bhaskar has come under fire since she recently went to meet Maulana Sajjad Nomani, a scholar of Islamic Studies that is opposed to female education.

Swara and her politician husband Fahad Ahmad visited Maulana Sajjad Nomani in his office on Saturday. Fahad shares pictures of the visit on social media and captioned them, “In the service of Maulana Sajjad Nomani, who blessed us abundantly”. Swara wore a peach-colored salwar suit and draped her dupatta over her head as Fahad did on a white kurta-pyjama.

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However, the viral pictures had an opposite effect : widespread criticism instead of emulation. Social media users called out Swara for hypocrisy over her meeting with someone who has controversial views on women’s education. Maulana Sajjad Nomani has been vocal about his opposition to “unsupervised education for girls.” Many people called the actress to task on this commitment to feminist causes.

One commenter pointed out, “Swara Bhaskar is known for mouthing platitudes about ‘feminism’ and women’s empowerment. Yet she chose to meet Sajjad Nomani, who is opposed to sending girls to schools and colleges.”

Another said, “Respect choices. She chooses her clothes, husband, politics, and religion. But I will mention her hypocrisy. Lady screams feminism from rooftops but proudly clicks a pic with a man who declares not to educate girls & supports the Taliban. All for votes.

Swara tied the knot with Fahad Ahmad, a leader of the Samajwadi Party, in February 2023 and later welcomed her daughter Raabiya in September 2023. She has not reacted to the controversy surrounding her meeting with Maulana Sajjad Nomani.