KARNATAKA: The Indian high court here has ruled in favour of banning hijab in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka.
The court has rejected the petitions filed by Muslim students for permission to wear hijab in colleges.
Also Read:
PDM announces Long March on 23rd
BAP advises PM Imran not to go for confrontation
The Karnataka High Court has upheld the ban on hijab in educational institutions, saying that wearing hijab is not a mandatory religious practice of the Islamic faith.
High Court Chief Justice Reto Raj Osthi said in his judgment that educational institutions have the right to recommend uniforms.
It may be recalled that Muslim women students had filed a petition against the ban on wearing hijab by some colleges in Karnataka.
In the state of Karnataka, which is ruled by the Hindu extremist party BJP, the local government had on February 5 ordered all schools and colleges to abide by the dress code set by the administration, which would ban the wearing of hijab and burqa.
After the verdict, some educational institutions of the state barred the admission of hijab-wearing female students against which the students and their parents protested while the famous actors of the country also raised their voices against it.
Last month, Indian Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi while condemning harassment of headscarf wearing Muslim women has said that whether it is bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or hijab it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the Congress leader said this is guaranteed by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women, she added.
It may be mentioned here that in Karnataka, there has been a difference between students and administration of many colleges over hijab for the last month and a half.
