Hijab protests spread in India as girls refuse to be told what not to wear
A burqa-wearing college student has become a symbol of
resistance in India's Karnataka state, where religious tensions are
rising over the right to wear religious clothing to school.
Muskan Khan was attempting to hand in a college assignment
in the city of Mandya when she was accosted by a group of Hindu men wearing
saffron scarves, the color of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to a video posted to social media.
The men heckle her as she makes her way across the school
grounds, demanding she take off her face covering, but instead of complying,
Khan shouts back "Allahu Akbar" as she punches her fist in the air.
The confrontation illustrates the religious divide that's
been widening in Karnataka since a group of girls began protesting outside
their government-run school in January after they were denied entry in the
classroom for wearing a hijab.
The girls petitioned the state's top court to lift the ban,
prompting rival protests from right-wing Hindu students.
On Wednesday the court referred the petition to a larger
panel of judges, but no date has been set for hearings.
Activists say the hijab row is yet another example of a
broader trend in India; one that has seen a crackdown on India's
minority Muslim population since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP came to
power nearly eight years ago.
They say that by denying Muslim women the choice to wear the
hijab, the government is denying them their religious freedoms, enshrined in
the Indian constitution.
"This is a massive attempt by the BJP to homogenize
Indian culture, to make it a Hindu-only state," said 23-year-old Muslim activist
Afreen Fatima, who has been protesting in support of the students in her
hometown of Allahabad in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state.
"Muslim women are isolated in India. And the situation is getting worse every day."
What started as a small protest made national headlines
after several other government-run educational institutions in Karnataka denied
entry to students wearing hijabs.
The protests have since spread to other cities. Scores of
students took to the streets in India's capital Delhi this month holding
placards and shouting slogans to express their anger at the ban. And hundreds
more have protested in Kolkata and Hyderabad, Reuters
reported.
On Tuesday, BJP-ruled Karnataka ordered a three-day closure
of all high schools and colleges amid the growing tensions. And on Wednesday
authorities in the state's capital Bengaluru banned protests outside schools
for two weeks.
For many Muslim women, the hijab is an integral part of
their faith. While it has been seen as a source of controversy in some western
countries, in India it is neither banned nor restricted from being worn in
public places.
Karnataka's education minister B.C. Nagesh said he supported
banning the hijab in educational institutions, citing the state's mandate on
religious attire.
"Government is very firm that the school is not a
platform to practice dharma (religion)," he told CNN affiliate CNN
News-18.
According to lawyer Mohammed Tahir, who is representing one
group of petitioners in court, Karnataka is a "hotbed" of the
Hindutva ideology supported by many right-wing groups, which seeks to make
India the land of the Hindus.
Karnataka has banned the sale and slaughter of cows, an
animal considered sacred to Hindus. It has also introduced a controversial
anti-conversion bill, which makes it more difficult for interfaith couples to
marry or for people to convert to Islam or Christianity.
And according to Tahir, the lawyer, religious tension in the
state will likely increase ahead of pivotal state elections next year.
"These issues (like the hijab ban) are very easy to
polarize the entire community for votes," he said.
In a statement Tuesday, the Indian Muslims for Secular
Democracy said it "strongly condemns the attempt by Hindutva
forces and the BJP government of Karnataka to engulf college and school
campuses in the already raging communal fire in the state."
"College campuses have thus been transformed into yet
another playing field for the BJP and other right-wing Hindu majoritarians,"
the statement said.
CNN has attempted to contact the state authorities but did
not receive a response.
The hijab row follows a string of online attacks against
Muslim women in India.
In early January, the Indian government was investigating
a website that purported to offer Muslim women for sale. It was
the second time in less than a year that a fake online auction of
that kind sparked outrage in the country.
"They came for us online," said Fatima, who was
featured on the online app. "Now, they are directly targeting our
religious practice. It started in one college and grew. I have no reason to
believe it will end there."
"Objectification of women persists -- for wearing less
or more. Indian leaders must stop the marginalization of Muslim women,"
she wrote on Twitter.
The All India President of the Students' Federation of
India, V P Sanu, criticized the hijab ban, saying it was used "as a
reason to deny Muslim women's right to education."
Modi referred briefly to Muslim women in a speech in
Uttar Pradesh Thursday as that state started voting in local elections.
The Prime Minister said his government "stands with
every victim Muslim woman."
He didn't refer to the hijab ban but said the government
gave Muslim women "freedom" by scrapping the controversial Muslim
practice of triple talaq, which allows a Muslim man to divorce his wife by
simply saying the Arabic word for divorce, "talaq", three times. The
Indian government criminalized the practice in 2019.
Khan, the student who yelled at the Hindu men, said she was
defending her religious rights.
"Every religion has freedom, India is a unity...every
religion has freedom," Khan told reporters Wednesday.
"They are following their culture and I am following my
culture. They should let us follow our culture and not raise any
obstacle."
Want to send us a story? SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp 0743570000 or Submit on Citizen Digital or email wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a Comment