Mumbai: College student faces ‘joke’ on wearing hijab

While the Karnataka High Court concluded the hearing of a petition on the hijab ban issue and reserved its judgment the case is impacting students from other states tooTwo weeks ago Mumbra resident Madina M a 17yearold junior college student from Menon College in Bhandup had to face lsquojokesrsquo about her wearing a hijab to college from one of her fellow classmates as he asked her to leave because of her attire Madina is one of the few students in her college to wear a hijabMadina says One of my classmates started making fun of me for wearing a hijab He asked me whether I would be standing outside the classroom for wearing a hijab After a point I had to shut him down by explaining that what he is saying is not a joke and he should understand the seriousness of the issueWhile other Muslim students from her class who donrsquot wear a hijab initially kept quiet they too raised their voices as Madina took a stand for herself She adds There are a few other Muslim girls in my college but not everyone wears a hijab It is a personal choice whether one wants to wear it or not If I feel comfortable nobody has a right to say whether I should wear it or notIn another incident Anjuman Shaikh a Govandi resident who stopped wearing a hijab in 2016 says the situation in her locality is different According to the 30yearold a few families in Govandi do not allow their girl child to go outside without a hijab anymoreldquoSince the Karnataka incident there are a few girls in the fiveseven age group who are not allowed to step out of their homes if they are not wearing a hijab The families insist on doing so because it gives them an identity of belonging to the Muslim communityrdquo she saysSpeaking about her own experience Shaikh says ldquoMy family and relatives too had a problem initially We canrsquot just stop wearing a burqa or hijab It is a process to make people understand change their mindset and take small steps else people around will start opposing it especially if one lives in an area where the majority belongs to the same communityActivists say it is an unnecessary politicoreligious matterA few activists in the city say the issue has been politicised and they dont support the matter as it is taking an unnecessary politicoreligious hueDurga Gudilu a social activist from Jogeshwari says ldquoI do not promote the wearing of hijab but in the same way all other religious attire should be banned in educational institutions Why are Hindu students and teachers not restricted from wearing religious attire or even turban bangles or mangalsutra to maintain institutional discipline The law should be equal for all A new angle has been created for political representationrdquoSupriya Jan an activist from Coro India which is an organisation working towards women empowerment says ldquoWearing a hijab is a matter of choice but at the same time the choices can be influenced by others The lsquochoicersquo of wearing religious garments based on religion is facilitated in young minds at an early age It is an opportunity to discuss other types of veils among women and girlsrdquoShe adds ldquoWe need to understand that the right to education should not be hampered at any cost We all need to realise the politics behind this issuerdquoA Full Bench of the Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi heard the arguments on the hijab row after petitions were filed by a few girls seeking permission to wear the hijab to educational institutions The girls were allegedly denied entry into a PreUniversity College in Udupi in December 2021 for violating the dress code