The Karnataka high court on Wednesday passed its judgement over the hijab row upholding the ban on hijab putting at stake the future of over 230 hijabi Muslim girls, who choose to wear headscarves as a part of their religious obligation.
The girls who chose to wear their hijabs despite the court’s orders will be prevented from attending classes and writing their exams.
According to data compiled by the Muslim Okkoota, a coalition of organisations representing the Muslim community in Udupi, over 230 Muslim students, from Udupi only, will miss their examinations this month.
The data was compiled after inviting students missing their classes, to fill up an online form. It was found that 160 students were studying in pre-university colleges whereas the remaining are from degree colleges. Sixty-one of them are appearing for board examinations in their second PU year, a crucial stage that paves the path for undergraduate courses.
“The scale of the problem is now huge,” The News Minute quoted a senior member of the Muslim Okkoota, Idrees Hoode, as saying.
“That is 230 families in Udupi alone distressed about the future of their daughter’s education and losing sleep about this academic year going to waste,” Idrees added.
The court on Tuesday pronounced its orders upholding the ban donning of hijab inside educational institutions that follow a uniform/dress code.
Apart from the Women’s Government PU College and MGM College, at least six other colleges in Udupi, Kundapur and Baindur, have similarly prohibited students wearing the hijab from writing their examinations, affecting a large number of Muslim students.
“Around 230 is the number of students who have come forward and enrolled for online classes. There are students in other districts who have missed their classes. There are also some parents who are asking why students should study when they won’t be allowed to write the examinations,” another member of the Muslim Okkoota in Udupi, Hasan Maved, was quoted by TNM over the ordeal of hijabi students and parents.
Dr G Shankar Government Women’s First Grade College in Udupi, Government PU College, Bhandarkar’s College of Arts and Sciences, RN Shetty Composite PU College, Dr BB Hegde First Grade College in Kundapur, and the Government PU College in Baindur, are a few of the many colleges that brought the high court’s order into action.
Muslim girls missed their examinations in the Dayananda Pai Sathish Pai Government First Grade College in Mangaluru, and in the Indavara Dodda Siddalinge Gowda (IDSG) College in Chikkamagaluru.
