Bengaluru: The hijab row in Karnataka has turned into a big controversy with many colleges denying entry to students wearing hijabs.
Reacting to the developments unfolding in the state, Rahul Gandhi today tweeted, “By letting students’ hijab come in the way of their education, we are robbing the future of the daughters of India. Ma Saraswati gives knowledge to all. She doesn’t differentiate”.
Petition in Karnataka high court
The petitions that were filed by students of the Government Pre-University College for Girls, Udupi, demanding permission to attend classes while wearing ‘hijab’ will be heard by the Karnataka high court on February 8.
The students in the petition have submitted that the college authorities have refused them the right to attend classes only because they wear hijab. They have further requested the court to issue directions to the government to not to interfere with their religious and fundamental rights. They mentioned that wearing hijab is an essential part of their religion.
The students have also explained in their petition that they wore hijab along with the uniform. The petitioners said that the Principal, Vice Principal and lecturers humiliated them for wearing hijab.
They further said that the ‘students following the Islamic religion and wearing hijab were denied entry into the college on December 28, 2021’. The petition also claimed that from the last week of December 2021, their class teacher did not allow them to sit in the class, and were asked to bring their parents. When the parents came, the college authorities didn’t meet them and made them wait for the whole day, the petitioner said. The students have submitted two petitions to the High Court.