Three hijab-clad Muslim students were not allowed to write their exams after college authorities insisted that they remove not only their hijabs but also their dupatta at JSS Degree College in Gokak on Thursday.
Aliya, a BA final year student said, “We went to college for writing our degree exams, when one of our lecturers stopped us and asked to remove our dupatta which we were wearing on our shoulders. We removed our hijab to write our exam but when our teachers forced us to remove our dupatta, we refused.”
Another student said that they approached the college principal Asha Terdal, who they accuse of refusing to hear their plea.
“We waited till the last minute but they didn’t allow us to write the exam even with our dupatta,” a student said.
She says that her family is contemplating filing a complaint against the college administration.
The Karnataka High Court on March 15 upheld the State government order effectively banning the wearing of hijab by Muslim girl students in educational institutions in Karnataka. The three-judge bench adjudicated that the wearing of the hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam.
The practical examinations for the Karnataka 2nd PUC Exams 2022 were scheduled to take place in February and March. However, during this time, Muslim students across different districts are not being allowed to take these exams wearing hijab, owing to the court order.
On March 19, two girls from a Government PU college in Kolar were also denied from writing a science practical exam for donning the hijab.
When asked, if the students who missed their exams owing the court case would be given an opportunity to rewrite their exams, the Education Minister BC Nagesh blankly refused to give them another chance.
“How can we even consider the possibility? If we allow the students who boycotted the practicals because they were not allowed to wear hijab to the exam despite the interim order issued by the high court, another student will come citing some other reason and seeking a second chance. It is impossible,” Hindustan Times quoted him as saying.
Athavulla Punjalkatte, State President of Campus Front of India said that the “Constitution has guaranteed religious freedom and the right to education for every citizen. But thousands of students who protested against the government’s discriminatory law found themselves in a compelling position to miss their exams”.
According to one report, close to 5,000 students have missed classes and examinations in Karnataka so far. Another report puts the number to as high as 11,000 students.
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