On Tuesday, February 15, thirteen girl students from the Government High School in Shivamogga district in Karnataka refused to take the SSLC (Class 10) preparatory examination after the teacher urged them to remove their hijab before entering the school.
Teachers at the Government Public School in Shivamogga district stopped the Muslim girls and requested them to remove their hijab. The students, on the other hand, simply refused to remove their headscarves and demanded that they be allowed to write their exams in their Islamic attire, in violation of the High Court order.
School gives an option to sit in a separate room without hijab, students stage walk-out boycotting exams
As per the ABP News report, teachers and school administration attempted to persuade them by encouraging them to write exams in a separate room where they would not be required to wear a hijab. The students, on the other hand, turned down the offer and decided to skip the exam. Parents of the girls who arrived at school there also supported their children and brought them home, stating that they could not attend courses unless they wore hijab.
Karnataka: Several students skip Class 10 preparatory exams at Karnataka Public School in Shivamogga city
— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2022
Hina Kausar, a student of the school, says, "I was asked to remove hijab before entering the school. I can't do it, so I chose not to appear in the exam." pic.twitter.com/T6oOPjpuYw
Aliya Mehat, a student who boycotted the exam for hijab, said: “The court is yet to give an order, whatever it is we will not take off the hijab. It is okay if we don’t write exams. Exams are not important for me, religion is important. We will not come to school if the hijab is not made mandatory. My parents have asked me to come back home if asked to take off my hijab,” she said.
As the news spread, DDPI Ramesh hurried to the school and attempted to persuade the students, but they refused to listen and walked out. According to the DDPI, the School Development Monitoring Committee and parents will meet by the end of the day to discuss the problem and find a solution.
The DDPI stated: “As the students have boycotted exams, after the meeting we will again arrange exams for them to take up”.
Petitioners in the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka seeks adjournment in the hearing till February 28
Meanwhile, one of the petitioners in the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka has sought adjournment in the hearing till February 28 claiming that the arguments are being used by political parties and groups ‘for ulterior gains’ in the ongoing elections in six states.
The Islamist group Popular Front of India (PFI) and its students’ wing, Campus Front of India (CFI), are supporting these protests demanding that hijab/burqa be allowed on school campuses, despite school uniform rules. Another Islamic organisation, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, has also backed it up.
It is notable here that the Karnataka HC had ordered that until their verdict in the case, the educational institutes must not allow any religious attire inside the campus.
