Speak up when denied rights, says Muskan, the woman heckled for wearing burqa to her college in Karnataka

Muskan Khan a 19yearold undergraduate student from Karnataka caught the worldrsquos attention after she bravely took on a rightwing mob that was heckling her for wearing a burqa at her college in Mandya district on TuesdayIn a video that went viral on social media Muskan is seen confronting a mob of males wearing saffron shawls who were forcefully demanding that she remove her burqa before entering the college Social media has since abounded with tributes that lionised her show of strength and courage in the face of hateful intimidation In a phone interview to Midday Online Muskan a BCom student of Mandyas PES College of Arts Science and Commerce described the experience and said that while she had felt lsquoattackedrsquo she had not felt fearldquoOn February 8 I reached my college around 11 am to submit my assignment Even before I could enter the college I was stopped by a mob of 5060 men because I was wearing a burqa They were shouting lsquoJai Shri Ramrsquo They said they would not allow me to enter the college in my burqa and hijab I was told to go back home if I refused to remove my burqa and hijabrdquo Muskan told MiddayldquoAfter that I somehow entered the college premises The mob did not stop following me even then They were chanting lsquoJai Shree Ramrsquo loudly I did not have a problem with that I got agitated when they started forcing me to remove my burqardquo she saidMuskan said she shouted the Islamic slogan lsquoAllahhuAkbarrsquo in response to the mobrsquos heckling ldquoI raised my hands and shouted lsquoAllahhuAkbarrsquo and it made me feel braverrdquo she saidThe incident comes on the heels of the Government PU College for Girls in Udupi banning eight students from entering the classroom wearing their hijabs They were told to take online classes if they were not willing to remove the hijab in the classroomOn Wednesday the single judge of the Karnataka High Court who was hearing a batch of petitions against the hijab ban in classrooms referred the matter to a larger bench saying it brought up constitutional questions of importance on aspects of personal law Also read lsquoWill continue the fight for my constitutional rightrsquo says Udupi college studentlsquoHampering studentsrsquo lives is wrongrsquoMuskan said this was the first time she had experienced something like this in her college ldquoOur principal is standing by us He said we can wear hijab if we want to and that he will not question that Our principal and a lecturer even helped me get inside the college building It is outsiders who were creating this ruckusrdquo she saidMuskan said only 10 per cent of the males in the mob were her classmates and the rest were outsiders ndash she said they were older men whom she had never seen in and around her college beforeldquoThey were heckling everyone wearing burqa and hijab Most of the girls were so scared that they cried and went back home Why should we cry for this Donrsquot we have the right to speak and express ourselvesrdquo she saidadding that she had not felt any fear when the mob confronted herldquoWhy should I be afraid I think the hijab is my right and nobody can question me We have been wearing this for ages Why is it creating a problem now India is a country that supports every religion we have the freedom to follow our religion here People from other religions follow their culture and we are following ours Are we questioning others for the culture they follow No It is as simple as thatrdquoUpset at the targeting of hijabwearing students in Karnataka ndash beginning with the college in Udupi that banned them from classrooms for wearing it She said ldquoHampering studentsrsquo lives is wrong We should all live and grow together Discrimination based on religion is wrong and unacceptablerdquoMuskan said most of her nonMuslim classmates have supported the Muslim female students and are standing with them in this fight ldquoThey are consoling us and are against this ban on hijab My nonMuslim neighbours too are against it They say we must all be allowed to follow our respective religionsrdquolsquoFeeling oppressed Speak uprsquoMuskan who wants to study law said lsquoI want to say one thing not just to Muslim girls but even to nonMuslim girls speak up if you feel oppressed speak up if you feel you are being denied your rightsrdquo