• Thursday, April 25, 2024

INDIA

Indian hairstylist, who spit on woman’s hair, apologises

Members of India’s saloon and beauty parlour association stage a protest in Mumbai, Maharashtra, against hairstylist Jawed Habib for recently spitting on a woman client’s hair while giving her a haircut. (ANI photo)

By: Shubham Ghosh

POPULAR Indian hairstylist Jawed Habib on Tuesday (11) appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) and submitted a written apology on the issue of spitting on a woman client’s head while styling her hair, saying he didn’t intend to hurt or disrespect anybody.

The commission said in a tweet that it has asked Habib to ensure that such a thing is not repeated.

“NCW held a hearing today. Habib appeared before NCW and stated that he didn’t intend to hurt or disrespect anyone and submitted a written apology. NCW also directed him to ensure that such a thing is not repeated. NCW had earlier written to Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, to take action in the matter,” the commission’s tweet said.

Recently, Habib was seen in a video purportedly spitting on the woman’s hair while the latter was sitting with her back towards him. He was also heard saying “if there is a scarcity of water, then use saliva”.

People were found laughing over the video which also infuriated several netizens.

The incident happened in Muzaffarnagar in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The woman, Pooja Gupta, recounted the horror on social media where she wrote, “Yesterday, I attended a workshop of Jawed Habib. He invited me to the stage for a haircut. He said if there is no water, you can use saliva. From now onwards, I will go to my street-side barber for a haircut, but will not go to Habib.”

This is not the first time that the celebrity hairstylist sparked a controversy. In September 2017, he had put out an advertisement that showed a number of Hindu gods and goddesses, including Durga and her children relaxing at one of Habib’s beauty parlours ahead of the Durga Puja festival that year. The hairstylist faced flak from the country’s majority community over the episode.

Habib later issued an apology and said that one of his company’s partners issued the advertisement without taking his approval.

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