Explained: Karnataka Hijab Controversy And The Clothes That Disturb Law & Order
Explained: Karnataka Hijab Controversy And The Clothes That ‘Disturb Law & Order’
The Hijab ban issue has refused to die down as Muslim girls are adamant on wearing hijab to college. The controversy is finding resonance in street protests and social media outrage across the country. Muslim girls argue that ban on Hijab violates right to freedom of religion enshrined in Constitution.
A Muslim woman holds a placard reading 'hijab is our rights' during a protest in Allahabad on February 10, 2022, after educational institutes in Karnataka denied entry to students for wearing hijabs. (AFP)
New Delhi: The Karnataka High Court on Friday ordered that students should not wear hijab, saffron shawls (bhagwa) or use any religious flags while attending classes in Karnataka colleges which have a prescribed uniform, till the Court decides the case relating to ban on hijab in certain government colleges. The interim order was passed by a Bench of Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justices Krishna S Dixit and JM Khazi in a batch of petitions filed by Muslim girl students in the State claiming that they were not being allowed to enter colleges on account of the government order which effectively bans the wearing of hijab (headscarves).
Grounds on which the K’taka govt order has been challenged?
Wearing a hijab is an expression protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution which guarantees the right to freedom of speech and expression. Constitutionally, a right under Article 19(1)(a) can only be limited on the “reasonable restrictions” mentioned in Article 19(2).
This includes sovereignty and integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of courts, defamation or incitement to an offence.
Student silently wearing a hijab/headscarf and attending class cannot in any manner be said to be a practice that disturbs “public order” and is only a profession of their faith.
Ban on headscarves violates the fundamental right to equality since other religious markers, such as a turban worn by a Sikh, are not explicitly prohibited.
Senior advocate Sanjay Hedge, appearing for the petitioners, also argued that the rules prescribed wearing of a dupatta for women and the state cannot dictate the manner of wearing that dupatta if a student wishes to cover her head with it.
What is the government order?
On February 5, the Karnataka government passed an order exercising its powers under Section 133(2) of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983 which grants the state to issue directives for government educational institutions to follow.
In 2013, under this provision, the state had issued a directive making uniforms compulsory for education institutions. Referring to the 2013 directive, the latest directive specifies that a headscarf is not part of the uniform.
It states that wearing a headscarf is not an essential religious practice for Muslims that can be protected under the Constitution.
The order takes refuge in three cases decided by different High Courts to hold that banning the headscarf is not violative of fundamental rights, particularly freedom of religion.
The petitioners, however, have argued that the facts and circumstances of the three cases are different and cannot be applied to the Karnataka case.
This means that the High Court will have to first decide whether wearing a hijab is an essential religious practice.
How did it all start?
In December, Udipi’s Kundapur PU college issued a circular – banning students from wearing hijabs in classrooms, claiming it was to ensure uniformity in classrooms.
This decision led to uproar, with some students not being allowed to enter classrooms by college staff and fellow students.
Similarly, students were stopped from attending college for wearing head-scarves instead of full-length hijabs.
Escalating the matter further, students from the other community started wearing saffron scarves to college in protest against the hijab-wearing Muslim students.
After a violent clash between police and students in Bengaluru, the state govt has issued an order imposing a ban on the wearing of clothes that tend to disturb equality, integrity, and public order and imposed section 144 in select districts.
The row has also taken a political colour as the ruling BJP stood strongly in support of uniform-related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf, a religious symbol, while the opposition Congress has come out in support of Muslim girls.
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