The female Muslim students have been facing a hard time, attending schools and colleges after the Karnataka High Court verdict was issued on March 15, 2022, which banned the wearing of hijab. Many students are boycotting government institutions and going back to madrasas.
What Is The Issue?
Upon the orders of the High Court of Karnataka, which barred Muslim girls from wearing hijab in educational centres, results show that there has been a steep rise in the number of Muslim female students withdrawing from schools and colleges and switching over to madrasas.
In addition to this, about seventeen thousand students were not able to sit for their examinations after the establishment of the order, as they were denied entry inside schools with their hijabs. These issues have been addressed to the Supreme court by the senior advocate, Huzefa Ahmadi, on behalf of the petitioners.
Petition Against The Verdict
At the Supreme Court hearing of the batch of appeals questioning the Karnataka High Court’s verdict on the banning of Hijab in colleges and schools, senior advocate, Huzefa Ahmadi contends that the disputed Government Order misinterprets the conception of fraternity and mistakes it for the ante-thesis of diversity.
Ahmadi claimed that despite the possibility that Hijab does not qualify as a vital religious tradition, it will be guarded as a tradition under Article 29(1) of the Constitution. “Article 29 cultural right is absolute.”
He said, “assuming it is a cultural right, are we going to uphold a circular which says you will be denied education if you wear this dress? And so many women are wearing so it is intrinsic to the culture.”
Also Read: Karnataka: Does Banning Of Hijabs And Saffron Scarves In College Evade Communal Crisis?
The PUCL Report
The senior advocate has put forward a current report issued by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) to the Supreme court, which states that the Hijab Ban in Karnataka has “imperilled” the liberty to education of an entire cohort of female Muslims. The report, under the title “Impact of Hijab Ban in Karnataka’s Educational Institutions” affirms that the Muslim girls were subjected to indignity, disgrace and harassment within as well as beyond the bounds of their educational institutions, as a consequence of the hijab fall out.
The PUCL report claims that the decision to outlaw the wearing of hijabs had been carried out by college administration “hastily, arbitrarily and without providing any prior notice.” It insists that the court should run an interrogation to make certain of why the state government decided to ban the hijab.
Furthermore, the report also makes a plea to the court to send out an order to the State Government to implement a thorough inquiry into years lost and financial damage suffered as an outcome of the hijab notice and make sure that the female Muslim victims and their families are fairly recompensed.
The Supreme Court’s Statement
The Bench, on learning about the pleas against the High Court’s verdict on the Hijab Ban, claims,“The only point you raised was that hijab wearing is an essential religious practice and that is what the HC has ruled on. Whether drop-out rate amongst Muslim girl students is high or not is a factual question. This should have been placed before the HC,”
The religious rights of the Muslim community students in Karnataka have taken the course of heated discussions throughout the nation. Hijabs are an integral component of Islamic culture and customs. The Karnataka High court verdict has been contested as a violation of religious rights of an individual.
While on the other side, the decision of banning hijabs has been deemed by many as a step towards secularization in the educational campuses.
Let us know in the comments below, what do you think of the situation.
Image Credits: Google Photos
Feature Image designed by Saudamini Seth
Disclaimer: This article is fact-checked
Source: The Print, The Indian Express &NDTV
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This post is tagged under: communal conflict, hijab, saffron scarves, Karnataka, Government college, religious identity, communal divide, campus, college divide, religious divide, religious difference, uniform, dress code
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