Nobel laureate and women’s rights activist, Malala Yousafzai has expressed her concern regarding the ongoing hijab row in the state of Karnataka. In a tweet posted on February 8, 2022, Yousafzai said, “Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is horrifying. Objectification of women persists – for wearing less or more. Indian leaders must stop the marginalisation of Muslim women.”
Yousafzai’s statement was made even as the row over the recent “hijab ban” in schools and colleges across Karnataka escalated. The issue started when the state education department asked educational institutions to maintain a “status quo” on dress codes. The Karnataka government supported this directive by insisting that “clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be work,” according to a statement quoted by The Indian Express.
Based on this directive, some institutions refused entry of women students donning the hijab. This sparked students’ protests over the “hijab ban”, beginning in Karnataka’s Udupi district. Students’ protests have now spread state-wide, while other groups across the nation are also coming out to support arguments from both sides of the hijab row. To resolve the row, the Karnataka High Court is trying to transfer petitions regarding this case to the Supreme Court on an urgent basis—a plea which the SC has now rejected. The petitions challenging the government’s stance on the dress code will now be heard by a bench of the Karnataka HC on February 10, 2.30PM.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of the state, Basavaraj Bommai has not only closed schools and colleges for three days but has also appealed that the peace and tranquillity of school campuses in the state must be maintained. “I have given the order to close (high) schools and colleges to maintain law and order, peace and harmony,” Bommai was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “I had appealed to students, management and teachers after which I gave the directive. I didn’t want the situation to escalate or see the students being targeted.”
While the situation is yet to be resolved, many leaders across the country have spoken up for the women students protesting the “hijab ban”, especially since incidents of heckling these students by mobs of male students emerged. Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar tweeted: “I have never been in favour of Hijab or Burqa. I still stand by that but at the same time I have nothing but deep contempt for these mobs of hooligans who are trying to intimidate a small group of girls and that too unsuccessfully.”
Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress leader, also tweeted regarding this issue: “Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear. This right is GUARANTEED by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women. #ladkihoonladsaktihoon.” BJP MP and veteran actress, Hema Malini, also spoke about the issue, noting that “Schools are for education and religious matters should not be taken there. Every school has a uniform that should be respected. You can wear whatever you want outside the school.”
*Image used for representative purpose. Image courtesy: Twitter/Malala