An Indian court on Tuesday upheld a ban on the hijab in class in the state of Karnataka, observing that the headscarf was not essential to Islam, several Indian media outlets reported.
The ruling might have a bearing in the rest of the country that has a big Muslim minority.
“Prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction on fundamental rights,” a three-judge bench headed by Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi said.
The court had on Feb 10 told students not to wear any religious clothing until it delivers a verdict on petitions seeking to overturn a ban on hijabs.
The dispute began in January when a government-run school in Karnataka’s Udupi district barred students wearing hijabs from entering classrooms, triggering protests by Muslims who said they were being deprived of their fundamental rights to education and religion. That led to counterprotests by Hindu students wearing saffron shawls, a colour closely associated with that religion and favoured by Hindu nationalists.
More schools in the state followed with similar bans and the state’s top court disallowed students from wearing hijab and any religious clothing pending a verdict.
Ahead of the verdict, the Karnataka government banned large gatherings for a week in state capital Bengaluru to maintain public peace and order, and declared a holiday on Tuesday in schools and colleges in Udupi.
The hijab is worn by many Muslim women to maintain modesty or as a religious symbol, often seen as not just a bit of clothing but something mandated by their faith.
Hijab restrictions have surfaced elsewhere, including France, which in 2004 banned them in schools.
But in India, where Muslims make up 14 per cent of the country’s 1.4 billion people, the hijab has historically been neither prohibited nor limited in public spheres. Women donning the headscarf is common across the country, which has religious freedom enshrined in its national charter with the secular state as a cornerstone.
Some rights activists have voiced concerns that the ban could increase Islamophobia. Violence and hate speech against Muslims have increased under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Hindu nationalist party, which also governs Karnataka state.
Politicians, journalists slam verdict
PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman said she was “appalled” by the verdict, terming it “wrong on so many levels”.
“Why [are] women’s bodies a battleground for faith, honour, exclusions, anything! Women should have the right to choose to cover or not to cover their heads. Coercion of any kind is not ok,” she tweeted.
Politicians and journalists in India criticised the decision as well with many terming it a violation of fundamental rights and pointing out rising religious extremism in India.
Former occupied Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah said he was “very disappointed” by the court’s decision, pointing out that the matter was related to the right of a woman to choose how she wants to dress. “That the court didn’t uphold this basic right is a travesty,” he added.
Similar sentiments were expressed by former chief minister of occupied Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti, who said, “On one hand, we talk about empowering women yet we are denying them the right to a simple choice. Its isn’t just about religion but the freedom to choose.”
Prominent Muslim lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi also shared a 15-point long thread on Twitter, saying among other things, that the verdict “suspended fundamental rights to freedom of religion, culture, freedom of speech and expression”.
“Not even other people of the same religion have the right to decide essentiality. It is between the individual & God. State should be allowed to interfere in religious rights only if such acts of worship harm others. Headscarf does not harm anyone,” he said.
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“Did the court have anything to say on the way Muslim women were bullied and heckled into taking off their hijabs? The way little girls were stopped from going to school until they took off their head scarves at the gate?” questioned NDTV’s consulting editor Nidhi Razdan.
Another journalist Shams Irfan expressed fears, saying, “The judgment that is exclusive to schools and colleges will soon be implemented on the streets and public spaces by goons.
“That is what it was always about.”
Journalist Aarefa Johari commented that the issue was “always about targeting Indian Muslims, and now the court has joined in”.
“#Hijab is a fundamental right, it’s the question of bodily autonomy as much as it is a question of faith. The court stated uniform prescription supercedes fundamental rights. V disappointing judgement,” said journalist Sumedha Pal.
