Hijab Issue: Muslim Girls At Udupi College Defiant Despite Growing Harassment

Despite mounting outrage over the continued ban on Hijab in classrooms at Udupi’s Government Pre- University, the girls allege that harassment from college authorities has increased including attempts to silence them by threatening coercive action. However, the girls are standing their ground as they say they will not back down on what they say is their right. 

“We will not give up. We are demanding for our rights and nothing will cause us to back down,” Almas, one of the students told The Cognate. 

Speaking to The Cognate, Muskan, a 1st year PU student said, “On Friday, we were forced to write an apology letter falsely stating that we did not go to college for the past 15 days though the college allowed us to. However, we did go to college but were not allowed to attend classes as we were wearing a hijab.” 

“Three of us were asked to sit in three separate corners of a room in the presence of four male professors, to write this. We resisted but they did not let us out of the classroom until we wrote,” she added. 

Three weeks since the news of a Pre-University College in Udupi denying entry in classrooms to Muslim students wearing a hijab made national headlines, the girls still remain shunned out of their classrooms and being marked ‘absent’. CFI and GIO (Girls Islamic Organisation) approached the school authorities and the district collector seeking to resolve the issue, however, the girls continue to be denied permission to enter classrooms. 

The girls have missed three weeks of classes and say that they may have a shortage of attendance that is required for them to write their Pre-University boards. 

Principal Rudra Gowda tried to play down the issue as he told The Cognate that this was the first time such an issue had been brought up by the students. He said the college will abide by whatever directives the education ministry issues. 

However, Muslim alumni of the college testify that they were harassed for wearing the hijab. According to Athiya, hijabs were physically snatched off students on many occasions. They were, however, permitted to enter the class, she says. 

On January 1, reports that hijab-clad Muslim girls of Government PU College, Udupi were being denied entry into classrooms triggered massive outrage. The girls said that the principal, Rudra Gowda, did not permit them to wear hijab in the classrooms. They claimed though their parents approached the principal for talks, he refused to hold a discussion on the issue. They also complained that they are not being allowed to talk in Urdu, Arabic and Beary languages.