‘Why Make Girls Dance?’ Zaira Wasim Questions J&K Waqf Board Over School Event

Former actor Zaira Wasim has questioned the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board’s role in an Independence Day event at a school in Kashmir, asking why young girls were made to dance at a public celebration.

Wasim raised the issue in a post on X on Sunday after seeing a video clip of what she said was an Independence Day programme held “for or by” the Waqf Board. She questioned whether a religious body serving the Muslim community should be associated with an event where children were mainly presented as performers.

“Why is the default way of involving children and particularly girls in public celebrations to make them dance to irrelevant songs?” she asked.

Wasim said schools and institutions should give children opportunities to think, create, learn, discuss, build and contribute, rather than simply asking them to perform. She also pointed to Kashmir’s long educational and scholarly tradition, saying education should help develop knowledge, character and spirituality.

She said her criticism was not aimed at the children. According to her, children often take part in activities planned by their schools and have little say in what they are asked to do. Her concern, she said, was about the institutions that choose, support and present such programmes.

Wasim also questioned whether an organisation with a religious purpose should give greater attention to the moral, spiritual and intellectual growth of the community.

Some reports have noted that the video Wasim referred to has not been independently verified as an event organised by the Waqf Board. No response from the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board to her comments was reported as of Monday.

Wasim, who rose to fame with Dangal in 2016 and later starred in Secret Superstar and The Sky Is Pink, left acting in 2019, saying her film career was affecting her religious beliefs. She has largely stayed away from the film industry since then.