In a heavy blow to the fight against the state of Karnataka’s ban on wearing hijab in schools and colleges, a verdict was issued on Tuesday by the Karnataka High Court which upheld the decision of banning the hijab and ruled that hijab was not an essential religious practice.
The much-awaited verdict came as a severe blow to the rights of the substantial number of Muslim citizens of India, whose basic freedom to dress had been compromised by the ban imposed on wearing hijabs on educational campuses.
The full bench of the Karnataka high court on Tuesday upheld the ban on wearing hijabs in school and college classrooms.#HijabRow #HijabVerdicthttps://t.co/ypAHONGZUH
— The Wire (@thewire_in) March 15, 2022
The issue snowballed, forcing the state to shut high schools and colleges for several days.
On Monday, ahead of the verdict, the Karnataka government had restricted large gatherings and shut educational institutions in some areas to prevent protests.
Justifying its verdict, the high court ruled a non-sensical statement that wearing a hijab was not an essential religious practice.
The matter had reached the court after some protesters filed petitions arguing that India’s Constitution guaranteed them the right to wear headscarves.
However, the court dismissed these pleas, saying the “state government has the right to prescribe uniforms for students.”
The protesters are likely to appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court.
