After being denied admission into classrooms while wearing religious headscarves,two of eight Muslim girls students who led the struggle against the hijab ban in Karnataka’s colleges decided not to take their second-year pre-university college (PUC) exams on Friday.
The students (girls), Aaliya Assadi and Resham, were observed exiting an examination centre in Udupi district after being turned away due to their dress.
The commerce stream’s second-year PUC exams began on Friday. According to Rudre Gowda, Principal of Udupi government ladies’ PU college, some students involved in the struggle against the hijab ban are from the science stream, and their first exam would be taken on Saturday.
Assadi and Resham, both under the age of 18, stood firm in their refusal to be forced to choose between faith and school, a subject that has generated nationwide struggle against the hijab ban.
Verdict of the court
On March 15, a three-judge panel comprised of chief justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, justice Krishna S Dixit, and justice JM Khazi issued a 129-page ruling declaring the hijab to be an “essential religious practice.”
“It can hardly be argued that hijab being a matter of attire, can be justifiably treated as fundamental to Islamic faith. It is not that if the alleged practice of wearing hijab is not adhered to, those not wearing hijab become the sinners, Islam loses its glory and it ceases to be a
religion,” said the bench, dismissing a bunch of petitions that have been filed in the case by students, the state government and several other stakeholders.
Right-wing parties in Karnataka have demanded that halal foods be banned, that azaan prayers not to be broadcasted over loudspeakers, that Muslims be barred from participating in temple fairs, and that the Hindu community cease doing business with Muslims and the country is embodied in struggle against the hijab ban and anti-Muslim movement.
Published By – Supreeti Ghosh
