Karnataka HC decides to uphold hijab ban in schools and colleges
A high court in the Indian state of Karnataka has ruled that the veil is not "necessary" for Islam in a landmark case that could have implications across the country.
 | |
|
The court also upheld the state government's order banning headscarves in classrooms.
The college's decision to ban entry of Muslim girls wearing head scarves in Karnataka in January had triggered protests.
Soon the matter intensified, forcing the state to close schools and colleges for several days.
The case reached the Supreme Court after some Muslim demonstrators filed petitions arguing that India's Constitution had guaranteed them the right to wear a scarf over their heads.
The court rejected the petitions, saying that the State Government had the right to propose a uniform for students.
Before the decision, the government on Monday banned large gatherings and closed educational institutions in some areas to stop protests.
The decision is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Thousands of people in India, where Muslims are a minority, have been eagerly following court hearings.
A judge hearing the case referred it for the first time to a larger body, citing the "seriousness" of the questions discussed on February 9.
The grand court issued a controversial interim order during the hearing, stating that female students could not wear religious uniforms, including headscarves, until the court reached its verdict.
This has led many Muslim women to skip classes and even their exams while the case is being heard. The controversy also caused a criticism and the critics see another attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government to marginalize Muslims.
A minister from the Modi government welcomed the order.
"I appeal to everyone that the state and country has to go forward, everyone has to maintain peace by accepting the order of high court," said Prahlad Joshi, federal minister for parliamentary affairs.
Th controversy began in the Udupi district of Karnataka after a state college banned six teenage students from wearing headscarves in class.
The college said it allowed female students to wear the hijab on campus and that they only needed to remove it in the classroom. But the girls, all in mandatory college uniforms, began a strike outside college, arguing that they should be allowed to cover their hair in the classroom.
Udupi is one of three areas in sectarian sensitive coastal region of Karnataka, the stronghold of Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.
The protests quickly spread to other colleges in the state also run by the BJP. Some Hindu students began going to classes wearing saffron shawls - a color seen as a Hindu symbol - forcing officials to insist that both could not be allowed on campus.
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai tweeted about the issue, asking India's leaders to do something "to stop the marginalization of Muslim women."
No comments :