Whether It’s A Bikini, or Ghoonghat…: Priyanka Gandhi Invokes Constitution to Defend Hijab-Wearing Students

Hijab Controversy: "Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear. This right is guaranteed by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women", Priyanka Gandhi wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter. 

New Delhi: Invoking Indian Constitution, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday defended hijab-wearing students and said that it is women’s right to decide what they want to wear. “Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear. This right is guaranteed by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women”, she wrote on Twitter.

Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear.

This right is GUARANTEED by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women. #ladkihoonladsaktihoon

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) February 9, 2022

Her statement comes as the hijab controversy that first erupted in January at a government PU College in Udupi, where six students who attended classes wearing headscarves in violation of the stipulated dress code were asked to leave the campus, has spread to different parts of the state with Hindu students too responding by turning up in saffron shawls. Saffron-clad students are also being barred from entering classes.

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.

Malala Yousafzai reacts to Karnataka hijab row

Earlier in the day, noble laureate Malala Yousafzai had criticised the “horrifying” situation. Taking to Twitter, she reacted on the ongoing controversy and urged Indian leaders to stop marginalisation of Muslim women. “Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is horrifying. Objectification of women persists — for wearing less or more. Indian leaders must stop the marginalisation of Muslim women”, Malala said.