Hijab Row Resurfaces As Mangaluru Students Stage Protests Demanding Complete Ban On Headscarf

After a significant uproar across Karnataka and the high court judgement, the hijab row seems to be resurfacing in the state. Hindu students staged protests against wearing the headscarf at the University College in Mangaluru's Hampankatta.

Within less than three months of the Karnataka High Court judgement stating that "hijab by Muslim women does not make up an essential religious practise in Islamic faith", protest erupted after some Muslim girls came to the university wearing the headscarf, and some Hindu students raised their objections.

The protestors gathered near the compound of the university, demanding authorities not allow students to wear hijab inside classrooms. They claimed that students must follow the uniform code wherever the uniforms are imposed.

Muslim Women Expresses Resentment

Last week, the university released a notice stating that all the six constituent colleges that uniform rules to be followed strictly. Earlier, Muslim girls were allowed to wear headscarves using the uniform shawl. However, last week, during the syndicate meeting, the authorities decided that hijab should not be worn inside and outside the classrooms. But the college universities could not impose the rules entirely as there were resentments from Muslim girls.

While some adhere to the rules but some refuse to do the same. Few of them started to miss classes. There are 1900 students at the university, and 44 are Muslim girls.

Talking to the media, a college professor on anonymity said, "irked by Muslim girls not adhering to rules, the college union backed by ABVP staged a flash protest and demanded that all must follow syndicate decision," quoted Times of India.

High Court Judgement

The hijab row controversy first broke out in Karnataka's Udupi when Muslim girls from Government PU College for girls demanded permission to wear hijabs in the classroom. They claimed that wearing a headscarf is an "essential practise" of Islam.

This further engineered a series of protests and violence across the start of Karnataka. The court banned wearing hijab and saffron shawl on college premises.

As per The Indian Express report, following the incidents, the state High Court, on March 15, in a landmark judgement spread across 129 pages, upheld that Muslim women's right to wear headscarves in educational institutions is not "constitutionally protected". They said that in places where uniforms are prescribed, students must abide by them.

Also Read: Hijab Row: Karnataka HC Dismisses All Petitions, Says 'Wearing Hijab Non-Essential Part Of Islam'