Amidst the ongoing controversy over the refusal of permission to some female Muslim students to wear hijab in the classrooms of a Pre-University College (PUC) in Udupi in Karnataka, Islamist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) has taken out a protest march in support of the Islamic attire in the Karachi city of Pakistan.
On Thursday (February 10), 100s of Pakistani women, who are associated with Jamaat-e-Islami, rallied in support of the ‘right to wear hijab in schools’ of India. They held placards that read, “Hijab is our right”, “Modi Stop Terrorism” and “Why is the world silent on this extremism?”
A Muslim news site, 5 Pillars, tweeted, “The Pakistani political party Jamaat e Islami have held a protest in Karachi against the recent hijab ban in some educational institutions in the state of Karnataka in India. #HijabRow.”
The Pakistani political party Jamaat e Islami have held a protest in Karachi against the recent hijab ban in some educational institutions in the state of Karnataka in India. #HijabRow pic.twitter.com/WJgmAtiWwg
— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) February 11, 2022
“We salute the courage and bravery of our Muslim daughter Muskan Khan. She chanted the slogan of ‘Allahu Akbar’. She declared that Muslims would not allow our values to be infringed under any circumstances,” remarked a JeI protestor. Khan is a student of PES College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Mandya in Karnataka. She came to the limelight after an obviously staged video of her yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ in a burqa was made viral, calling it ‘brave’.
Another niqab-clad female protestor said, “We demand from the government of India, which has a secular constitution to allow Muslim citizens, women and girls, to live according to their culture and values.” One Jamaat-e-Islami agitator drew false equivalences with the Hindu way of life to claim that girls should be allowed to wear hijab in schools.
Besides protests in Karachi, Islamists also burnt the effigy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lahore city and demanded that Muslim girls be allowed to wear hijab to schools.
It is notable here that this support for Islamic outfits has come amid multiple incidents of atrocities against the minority Hindus in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the last few weeks. Recently, a Hindu school teacher named Notan Lal was sentenced to 25 years in jail over false allegations of ‘blasphemy’. Sadly, no Muslims in Pakistan have held protests against the court ruling and the daily occurrence of atrocities against Hindus and Christians in the Muslim-dominated country.
Karnataka Hijab row: The background of the case
The controversy began on January 1 this year when some female Muslim students of a Pre-University College (PUC) in Udupi tried to enter their classes with hijabs, in defiance of the uniform dress code. The school had asked them to follow the dress code and had prevented their entry in the classrooms with hijabs.
According to Karnataka’s Education Minister BC Nagesh, uniforms had been in existence in the said government PUC since 1985. He had informed that there has never been an issue to date.
“Uniform in the college has been there since 1985. Till now, no problem was there. Uniformity creates a common mind. Kesari shawls are not allowed in college either. The same Muslim girls have been ok with the uniform dress code till recently. They have been suddenly provoked,” he had remarked.
The girls then launched a protest outside their classrooms for several days to allow them entry with their hijabs on. They then moved the High Court and the Supreme Court for grievance redressal. Meanwhile, Hindu students launched a counter-protest sporting saffron shawls and demanded uniformity in school attire.
