Hijab Row Verdict: Understanding the Impact on Muslim Women's Education

How will the ban on hijab in Karnataka impact Muslim women's education? Tune in!

Image used for representation only. 

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

“Is our uniform more important to them than our education? They are the ones making us illiterate. They are the ones not allowing us to student and pushing us away from education. They are not letting us study.”

Hazra Shifa, one of the six students who filed the petition in the Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court on 15 March effectively upheld the government imposed ban on hijab in educational institutions in the state and further stated that the right to wear a hijab is not constitutionally protected.

Referring to constitutional guarantees, Hazra Shifa said, “We were expecting so much from our constitution and country. If today Dr BR Ambedkar were alive, he would have literally cried."

As examinations are expected to begin in April and the students said they would seek further legal course and will approach the Supreme Court to intervene and stay the order.

But the ongoing chaos over this issue for the past few months, especially after the verdict, has brought forward the question of how it is impacting the education of Muslim women.

In our last episode, we broke down the high court verdict and why it may be problematic. In today’s episode, The Quint spoke to Aliya Assadi, one of the students who filed the petition on the effect it will have on her education. You will also hear from Mihira Sood, Executive Director of Centre for Child Rights & Juvenile Justice and a professor at the National Law University.