In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice Chairman, Omar Abdullah on Tuesday called the Karnataka High Court’s decision to uphold the hijab ban as “deeply disappointing”, saying that hijab is not only about religion but the freedom to choose.
Commenting on the judgment, Mehbooba wrote: “Karnataka HC’s decision to uphold the Hijab ban is deeply disappointing. On one hand we talk about empowering women yet we are denying them the right to a simple choice. Its isn’t just about religion but the freedom to choose.”
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed petitions filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, Karnataka, seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classroom.
Vice chairman of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Omar Abdullah, in his twitter message said, “Very disappointed by the verdict of the Karnataka High Court. Regardless of what you may think about the hijab, it is not about an item clothing. It is about the right of a woman to choose how she wants to dress.” He deplored that the court did not uphold this basic right is a travesty.
in line with the Hindutva agenda of the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in India, Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions.
The Karnataka High Court said that wearing Hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam. The court also said that no case is made out for invalidating the Government Order of February 5.
The full bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice J M Khazi was constituted on February 9 on a petition filed by girls from Udupi who prayed that they should be allowed to wear Hijab even inside the classroom along with the school uniform as it was part of their faith.
The hijab protests in Karnataka began in January this year when some students of Government Girls PU college in the Udupi district of the state said that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab.
Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was the same in several colleges in the Udupi district.—KMS
