NEW DELHI, Feb 11 : The intellectuals has said that ban on head scrap/hijab in classrooms and campuses in south Indian state Karnataka, which is now spreading to other states, is a hate crime.Over 2000 intellectuals, who are working as lawyers, journalists, academicians, and woman-right activists through an open letter said, the ban on hijab in classrooms and campuses in south Indian state Karnataka, is a hate crime, reported The New Indian Express. The intellectuals while expressing solidarity with the Muslim women who are protesting the ban on hijab said the restrictions on wearing head scrap/ hijab in classrooms and campuses are only the latest pretext to impose ‘apartheid’ on Muslim women.
The signatories in the open letter, endorsed by over 130 groups across 15 states, have stated that the Indian Constitution mandates schools and colleges to nurture plurality. “Uniform in such institutions is meant to minimize the differences between students. They are not intended to impose cultural uniformity on a plural country,” the signatories of the open letter stated.
Kavita Krishnan of AIPWA, who is leading the solidarity movement, said making head scrap or hijabi women sit in separate classrooms or moving them from the colleges of their choice to Muslim-run colleges is nothing but “apartheid”.
She along with other signatories of the letter alleged that the “Hindu supremacist” groups in coastal Karnataka have since 2008 been unleashing violence to ensure such “apartheid”.
“We are appalled that the Karnataka Home Minister has ordered an investigation into the phone records of hijab-wearing Muslim women to ‘probe their link’ with ‘terror groups, the open letter further stated adding that Muslim women wearing hijab are now being treated as conspirators.
The signatories declared: “Educational institutions should pay attention to what is inside students’ heads and not what’s on them. We stand with every woman who is told that she can not enter college because she is wearing jeans or shorts or hijab”.
All the signatories demanded stern action against the organisation and individuals who led and were part of the mob that heckled a Muslim girl in Mandya area. They also appealed to the students and citizens in India to resist any attempt to impose misogynistic and Islamophobic dress codes on students.
Prominent amongst other signatories of the open letter are Kavita Srivastava (People’s Union for Civil Liberties), Kavita Krishnan (AIPWA), Asha Pandey (lawyer), Abhiti Gupta(feminist) Cedric Prakash (human right activist), Akash Bhattacharya (All India Peoples’ Forum), Clifton D’ Rozario (All India Lawyers Association for Justice) and Abha Dev Habib (Democratic Meanwhile, the Muslim girls who started the resistance against ban on hijab in their college in Udupi district of Karnataka have alleged that college authorities have leaked their addresses and mobile numbers making them vulnerable to harassment and attacks.
According to a report in Indian media, 17-year-old Aliya Assadi, one the girls who protested against the hijab ban, said phone numbers, parents’ names, and home address were shared in WhatsApp groups.
“I am not comfortable showing my face anymore. Already everyone knows how I look and where my home is. What if someone targets me,” Aliya asked.
She has started wearing a burqa covering her face too after her details surfaced on the social media.
Another student, Hazara Shifa, said her parents are receiving calls from unknown numbers.
The group has demanded answers from the college authorities as to how their private details came out in public.
The girls have accused Udupi BJP MLA Raghupathi Bhat, who happens to be the chairman of the College’s Development Committee (CDC), of instigating students against the girls for wearing hijab. “He has now made, not just the college, but also our homes unsafe,” Assadi lamented.
Tensions are soaring in the state since last week when Hindu students at several colleges wore saffron shawls in opposition to the hijab. On Tuesday, they took out marches against the hijab leading to clashes between the two student groups at a number of places. The government issued order banning clothing that “disturbs law and order”.
Meanwhile a hearing by a larger bench of Karnataka high court is underway.
The Students of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University on Thursday staged a protest over ban on hijab in educational institutions in Karnataka.
Expressing solidarity with Muslim students of Karnataka, large number of varsity students marched on the campus.Raising slogans and holding placards in support of Hijab, students took out a huge rally. “We support Hijab” reads a placard.
The students were raising slogans “Hijab hamara haq hai”. One of the protesters was holding the national flag.
Members of civil society also staged a protest at historic Charminar in support of hijab. They expressed solidarity with students of Karnataka. Women from various walks of life and belonging to different religious groups participated in the protest. They were carrying placards with the slogan “Hijab is our right” written on them.
Afsar Jahan, a practicing lawyer at Telangana High Court, pointed out that several Muslim women lawyers in Telangana appear in courts with Hijab and argue cases. “No honourable judge ever raised any objection. They know the Constitution better than us. The Constitution of India has given us the right to religion and thus wearing Hijab is not against the Constitution,” she said.
One of the non-Muslim protestors took strong exception to singling out Muslims and alleged that some forces deliberately trying to create communal trouble. She said that if the government does not want religion to be practiced in schools and offices, it should treat all equally by removing symbols and photographs of gods and goddesses from offices and other government institutions.
This was the second day in a row that the Charminar witnessed a protest in support of the hijab. Students of Nizamia Unani Tibbi College had Wednesday staged a silent protest expressing their solidarity with those in Karnataka fighting for the right to wear hijab.
A huge protest rally was held at Anwarul Uloom College at Mallepally in the city on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, management of the Sweekar Academy of Rehabilitation Sciences (SARS) in Hyderabad denied that there is any ban on hijab in classrooms. The management said nobody was stopped from wearing burqa or hijab but students are not advised to wear burqa in classrooms because many patients also come in burqa and it becomes difficult to recognise them.
The clarification came after a student tweeted that the institute is not allowing students to wear burqa.
Some other students of the institute said they did not face any discrimination as they are not asked to remove their hijab. -IANS/ agencies