With the case challenging the Hijab ban in Karnataka’s educational institutions now to be referred to a larger Supreme Court bench, Hijabi students from different parts of the state are demanding that they be allowed to attend their classes till the final verdict is reached.
“We have already wasted so many months, first waiting for the verdict from the Karnataka High Court and then from the Supreme Court; we cannot afford to wait further. Since it’s a split verdict, and one judge has talked about our right to education...in light of that we urge the Karnataka government to allow us to resume our studies,” Hiba Sheik, a 20-year-old student in Karnataka’s Mangalore district told The Quint.
In March, she was allegedly stopped by a group of ABVP students from entering her college to sit for her exam, a video of which went viral. She then she has not been allowed to enter her college.
Split Verdict, But Karnataka Govt To Stick To Hijab Ban
On Thursday, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, one of the two judges on the bench hearing the case said that the Karnataka government’s order banning the Hijab in educational institutes should be quashed.
"It's ultimately a matter of choice, nothing more, nothing else," said Justice Dhulia.
"Upper most in my mind was the education of the girl child. One thing which was topmost for me was education of Girl Child," he said while announcing the verdict.
However, Justice Hemant Gupta had agreed with the Karnataka High Court verdict upholding the ban, thus resulting in a divergence of opinion on the bench. With no conclusive verdict, the petitions were referred to the Chief Justice of India who would appoint an appropriate and larger Bench to re-hear the case.
Hours after the Supreme Court’s spilt verdict, Karnataka education minister BC Nagesh told media that the government will stick to its Hijab ban order. “The verdict of the Karnataka High Court will remain valid, wherein no religious practices will be allowed in colleges, and students have to abide by uniform rules wherever prescribed. As per Karnataka Education Act, we will not allow any religious practice in colleges,” the Karnataka school education minister said.
'Education And Future Prospects Slipping Away'
On 5 February 2022, the Karnataka government issued an order banning the Hijab in government educational institutions, saying that "clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be worn." On 15 March 2022, the Karnataka High Court upheld the state government’s ban on hijab in government educational institutions.
Shaheen, who is a final year student in a government college of Shimoga, stopped attending college in April this year after her college enforced the Karnataka High Court’s March ruling upholding the Hijab ban. “It’s been six months and sixteen days since I was last allowed to enter my college. I mark every single day. If I don’t resume my studies soon I will waste an entire year. And because it’s my final year, it will be as good as letting go of my degree,” the 20-year-old said.
Shaheen said that she has been trying to seek admission in other colleges since the High Court verdict, but is turned away from everywhere. “They said that I will have to give up my Hijab if I want to get admission. It feels like my education and future prospects are all slipping away from me,” she told The Quint.
Some Hijabi students have transferred their admission to private universities, after the Hijab ban was implemented in government colleges. “We really tried to convince our college authorities but when they refused to allow us to attend the classes, we tried getting admitted to a private college. Even that process took a lot of time, and was tedious,” a 22-year-old Hijabi student in Bangalore said.
“But I know many girls from the same college who can’t afford to shift to private colleges, they continue to suffer. If they are allowed to wear the Hijab, it will be a huge relief for them,” she added.
In Mangalore, Ayath Aslam, a student in a private university said she has been spared from the Hijab ban, but her cousins and friends who were in government institutes are suffering. “Many people I know who can’t afford private education have had to give up college altogether. It’s been heartbreaking to see that,” she said.
In The Quint’s documentary titled ‘Voices Behind the Veil: The Human Cost of Karnataka's Hijab Ban’, we had reported how the Hijabi students are suffering gravely because of the ban.
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