Mangalore, September 05: Meeting halfway, the management of SVS College, Bantwal, near Mangalore and the family of Aysha Asmin the girl who insisted on wearing a headscarf in class arrived at an amicable solution.
The college put an end to the issue by introducing uniforms for its students, and granted permission to girls to use the shawl (dupatta) of the uniform as a headscarf.
This decision was taken at a meeting with Mangalore University vice-chancellor, and was attended by local MLAs, representatives of the college and others, on Thursday night.
The college management was caught in a row over not allowing Aysha Asmin to attend class until she shed her religious identity, a headscarf.
The uniform will be introduced with immediate effect and the process will be completed in a month or two, SVS College correspondent Ganesh Prabhu told TOI. The uniform will be a cream-and-dark brown combination, with a cream-coloured dupatta. Prabhu said the college tailor would give them two uniform samples on Monday. “As we have 500 students, the process will take time,” he added.
The meeting, held on Thursday under the chairmanship of vice-chancellor Prof Kaveriappa, was attended by Bantwal MLA B Ramanatha Rai, Mangalore MLA U T Khader, registrar Prof K Chinnappa Gowda, correspondent Ganesh Prabhu and principal Seetharama Mayya. Aysha was represented by her relatives, Abdul Salaam Master and Ibrahim.
Girl’s family happy
Aysha Asmin’s father Mohammed is happy with the decision, but has still not decided which college she would go to. “My daughter is not averse to going to SVS, but her mother is not in favour. The college management called us and said they would be happy to have Aysha in college.”
When told that delaying the decision could cost her a year due to attendance shortage, Mohammed said he would decide on the college in a couple of days.
Kaveriappa said Aysha and her father had not approached him after he gave the assurance that he would help her get a transfer from SVS to any college she chose. “If she has attendance shortage, I cannot help her, I can get her attendance transferred to the new college,” he said, indicating that they (Aysha’s parents) were in a dilemma.
Aysha, though, seems inclined, and said a cream-coloured scarf would be fine. “I don’t have issues about the colour as long as I wear a headscarf inside college,” she said. Aysha has already lost 28 days. She said that by Monday, she will be clear which college she would go to.
-Agencies