Educational, social, psychological ramifications of the Hijab restriction on Muslim students

Rachana Ramesh| NT

Bengaluru

People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Karnataka’s recent report titled ‘Impact of Hijab Ban in Karnataka’s Educational Institutions: An Interim Study Report’ was used on behalf of the petitioners of the Hijab issue on Wednesday at the Supreme Court. The counsellor used it to raise the issue of the number of dropouts among the students due to the ban. To help reach the same report to a wider audience, the PUCL held a discussion featuring eminent speakers who have worked in the field of education as well as with minority communities.

The report is based on the visits by members of the team as they travelled to different districts of Karnataka, understanding the testimonies of women who have been denied their right to education and other rights associated with the right to education. It focuses on the educational, social and psychological ramifications of the Hijab restriction on Muslim women students. It also examines the role of the Kannada media and the response of the bureaucracy to the crises.

“Every instrument that was put into place by the executive, by the apparatus that formed the educational administration and the courts was to ensure that girls received education,” said Kavita Srivastava, well known for her contributions to the Right to Food campaign and the national secretary of PUCL. She added that Karnataka’s case study of Hijab shows a complete breakdown of the constitutional conduct in institutions that are supposed to ensure the right to education. She hoped that the Supreme Court verdict will respect the rights of Muslim women as equal to the rights of other girls.

Aiman Khan, an independent researcher out of Delhi, said that the consequences of the ban will not be restricted to Karnataka. “The kind of discrimination and violence that has happened with Muslim women through January, when the row was initiated, can be seen across India,” she said. “Saffron shawls have never culturally or religiously been in practice across India and are now being equated to an essential practice of a minority community,” she added.

 Syeda Saba, an advocate practicing in the city said that the issue is being looked at with the lens of religion alone and the burden of maintaining peace is being placed only on the Muslim community. Shehzad Shakeed from Student Islamic Organisation pointed out that uniforms were never meant to impose homogeneity. “The entire incident is being justified on the lines of maintaining uniformity. I would like to ask those rigid outfits – should we consider homogeneity over the fundamental rights of the students?” he questioned.

Dr Niranjanaradhya, a prominent development educationist, said that the report is timely on two accounts. First, to engage the larger community with the hidden agenda of the state, especially where there is prevalence of right wing politics. Secondly, the report will help provide concrete on ground evidence to the courts that are currently discussing the matter, as it holds records of the primary stakeholders of the issue. “The report has unmasked the agenda of the right wing to destroy the very harmony present among the students. Their motive to polarise and poison the minds of one of the biggest constituencies of young adults can be clearly seen along with their ulterior political motives,” he said and concluded with the importance of the right to education as a fundamental right.