Washington DC: Indian American Muslims protested in Houston city of Texas against the Karnataka High Court’s ban on students wearing hijabs in schools.
The protest saw more than a hundred people, with the women at the forefront. The protestors called on the Karnataka government to immediately stop the discrimination against Muslim girl students who are being forced to remove their hijabs.
The court’s interim order was passed after several colleges in Karnataka state barred Muslim students from entering classrooms while wearing hijab, leading to nationwide protests and international criticism.
Protesters in Houston held placards saying “hijab is our constitutional right,” “stop India’s hijab ban,” “stop Islamophobia in India”, “attack on hijab is a ploy to deny education to Muslim girls,” and “hijab ban in India is apartheid.”
“It is not just a piece of clothing for those of us who choose to wear it, it is our very identity… We wear it just as naturally as a Sikh person wears their pagdi, a Christian wears their holy cross, a married Hindu woman wears her mangalsutra, sindoor or bichhiya. I request you to not politicize it,” remarked one protestor.
The protest was organised by the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) in connection with Alliance to stop genocide in India.
