One among the six Muslim students, Aliya Assadi, whose petition demanding headscarves to be allowed in educational institutions, was dismissed by the Karnataka high court on Tuesday, stated that the Hijabi Muslims were not treated with dignity.
The students who are battling the hijab ban by the state have been called terrorist sympathizers by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Yashpal Suvarna and Raghupathi Bhat who have also alleged that the girls have been brainwashed by “radical Islamists”.
Aliya who is a state-level karate gold medalist and has won numerous tournaments has expressed her fears of having to drop out of the college if the Supreme Court upholds the high court’s orders over the state’s hijab ban, reported NDTV.
Dismissing the claims of the BJP mouthpieces, Aliya’s father, Ayoob Assadi, said that the practice of wearing the hijab was encouraged since childhood but her ambitions were not curbed.
“Hijab is needed. My daughter has been wearing a hijab since she was a child. Even while taking part in Karate competitions, she wore the hijab,” Ayoob Asaadi was quoted by NDTV, as he rubbished claims of the BJP leaders.
He also expressed that he may have to transfer his daughter to another college that permits the wearing of the hijab, following the court order.
The second-year pre-university student said that the girls had earlier sent their parents to persuade the college to grant them permission to wear the hijab however after unsuccessful attempts the students attended the college with headscarves and later became protestors demanding their constitutional rights.
Following the row, Aliya has been isolated by her classmates.
