Hyderabad: In an incident reported from Uttar Pradesh on August 12, a few intermediate students were barred from entering the college as they wore the hijab.
The incident occurred at the Janta Inter College, in the Bijnor district. Following the morning prayer, principal Shivendra Pal Singh sent students donning the hijab back home.
The students were asked to return with their parents the next day. The principal reportedly told the students that they would be allowed in the college if they came without the hijab.
“If someone comes wearing a burqa or hijab, she will be sent back home,” the college officials were quoted as saying by Maktoob Media.
The issue gained traction after a student recorded the principal’s antics and posted it on social media.
The district authorities took cognizance of the video after it went viral. DIOS (District Inspector of Schools) Jai Karan Yadav visited the college and initiated an inquiry. “The authorities have sent us back because of the hijab. The Principal has asked us to wear dupatta and not cover our heads. He asked to call our guardians,” a group of girls were heard saying in the video.
This incident comes days after the Supreme Court of India recently partially upheld an order by a private college in Mumbai that had banned hijabs on its premises.
The top court also strongly opposed the hijab ban, asking the college authorities, “Where is the question of empowering women by enforcing your dress code?”
