‘Horrifying’, Says Malala Yousafzai On Hijab Controversy

Table of Contents

What has happened?

Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace laureate and women’s rights activist, on Tuesday took to Twitter,
To share her horror over the ongoing hijab controversy raging in Karnataka where Muslim girls wearing the headscarves are being barred from attending classes.
Yousafzai said refusing to let girls go to school in their hijab is horrifying, adding objectification of women continued in one way or the other – for wearing less or more.
The Nobel laureate, who had taken bullets from the Taliban in Pakistan in 2012 for speaking up about the rights of girls and their education, urged Indian leaders to stop marginalisation of Muslim women.

With the ‘hijab’ row intensifying in several parts of Karnataka, the state government on Tuesday announced the closure of high schools and colleges for the next three days.
The Karnataka High Court will resume hearing petitions filed by some students on this matter.
The court, meanwhile, appealed to the students and people to maintain peace and tranquility.
The petitions sought a declaration from the Court that they have a “fundamental right to practice essential religious practices, including wearing of Hijab as per Islamic faith, on the college premises,” the single bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit said.
Asking people to have faith in the Indian Constitution, Justice Dixit observed that only some mischievous people were keeping the issue burning.
He also pointed out that agitations, sloganeering and students attacking each other were not good.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is in New Delhi, issued the order on closure of schools and colleges and tweeted,
“I appeal to all students, teachers and managements of schools and colleges, as well as people of Karnataka, to maintain peace and harmony.”
He appealed to all those concerned, especially students, to patiently wait for the court’s verdict.

The Opposition has, meanwhile, lambasted the BJP government for escalation of the issue and “colleges turning into battlefield.”
Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah in a series of tweets said, “Hijab-Kesari issue could have been resolved harmoniously at the local level.
BJP in Karnataka, which politicized the issue, is now clueless on how to control the situation.”

Ripples from the hijab row also made its way to the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The state’s Education Minister Inder Singh Parmar said that since hijab is not part of the uniform it should be banned.
He also said that a ‘dress code’ will be implemented in schools in Madhya Pradesh to ensure that a sense of equality prevails among students.
Parmar also alleged that “systematic efforts” are being made to disturb the country’s environment on the issue of wearing ‘hijabs’ or headscarves.

In Puducherry meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Directorate of Education said they have received complaints from student groups and other organisations regarding a teacher who allegedly objected to a head scarf worn by a student.
“We want to know what has actually happened and further course of action would be decided after receiving a report from the school.”
The local head of the Left-backed Students Federation of India said the girl had been attending classes wearing hijab for the last three years and questioned why the objection came up now.