When women reach the polling booths to cast their vote in current village council elections in Rajasthan, they may be asked to remove their veil, showing their faces in front of strangers.

The move is controversial in this vast, conservative rural hinterland, where the veil is worn by Hindu and Muslim women as well as other groups.

But the state’s chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, wants the centuries-old custom, which he describes as a “relic of a bygone era”, banned. It’s part of his recently launched ghoonghat hatao (end the veil) campaign, which he claims seeks to empower women.

“Women need to be empowered. They have the capacity to bring changes in society and their role is very crucial. There is no need for women to wear the ghoonghat in a modern world where humans have reached the moon and Mars,” he said.

As well as asking women to remove veils during elections, local officials will visit villages every Friday in an attempt to persuade women to stop the practice and encourage husbands and fathers to back the move.

“We’re hoping that when people see this message being given by respected figures of authority, rather than activists, it will make an impression,” said Anuradha Saxena, assistant director of the women and child development department in Sikar district.

Posters are going up in government offices and public places and social media will be used to spread the message. Eventually, the campaign will be taken into schools so that young girls are taught that the veil is not necessary as an emblem of morality.

Though largely confined to rural areas, the custom, which can also be found in other parts of north India, is particularly common in Rajasthan. Women cover their faces in front of men and after marriage they often remain at home, accepting a traditional role under male authority. Women who fail to do so may be deemed immodest. Even royal women, who do not wear the veil, keep their heads covered in public.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘Women need to be empowered’: Rajasthan’s chief minister, Ashok Gehlot. Photograph: Prabhakar Sharma/Hindustan Times/Getty Images

A 2017 survey by the Centre for the Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania found that 98% of women aged 18 to 25 in Rajasthan wore the veil.

Change is happening in the state, however. Young women from the countryside often abandon the veil when they arrive at college. Many women in urban areas have discarded the custom.

The campaign is still in its infancy, but Saxena said that at village meetings she has attended, reactions have been mixed. Most people feel deeply uneasy at the thought of stopping such an ingrained custom, she said. One woman told her she felt naked without it.

“A few weeks isn’t going to undo the habit of centuries, but once a few women take the lead, that will break down the resistance. All the state midwives and rural health workers keep their faces uncovered as they go about their work in villages, so they also set an example,” she said.

Prakash Chand Pawan, commissioner of the Rajasthan women empowerment department, said this was the first time any government in the state has attempted to ban the veil. “We are clear in our message. Look at urban women, we tell them. Despite no veil, they respect their elders and treat their family members with honour, so they can too,” said Pawan.

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One of the posters shows a traditionally-turbaned man saying he will no longer support a dated custom and insists his wife and daughters discard the veil. His wife responds by saying that now she is more aware, she won’t cover her face – and won’t expect her daughter-in-law to do so either.

Conservative groups are, however, resisting the move. The Hindu fringe group Karni Sena said the veil was a vital part of Rajasthan tradition.

Though Gehlot’s campaign seems to be primarily aimed at Hindu women, an orthodox Muslim group echoed Karni Sena’s sentiments, telling Gehlot not to interfere in the community’s religious traditions.

Local activist Kavita Srivastava welcomed the campaign but said Gehlot needed to have a much more detailed and timebound action plan. “He also needs a plan in place to handle any backlash. Our experience shows that when ancient customs are challenged, it can trigger anger, even violence,” she said.

Gehlot says he wants the veil gone simply so that women can move in the world like men. “Let the women breathe in open air,” he said.