With regards to the hijab ban, author Sowmya Rajendran says, ‘In a society where the state punishes women for not wearing it, the feminist should fight against the state. In a society where the state punishes women for wearing it, the feminist should fight against the state.’
It has been two years since the Karnataka High Court issued an interim order in February 2022, imposing a ban on wearing hijab in educational institutes with certain policies around uniforms. In late December 2022, the Government Pre-University College in Udupi prohibited Muslim students from wearing hijabs inside the classroom. Six students protested this move, but the administration refused to change its new rule, leading to further protests from Muslim students. Subsequently, in January, hundreds of Hindu students arrived at their colleges with saffron scarves around their necks, demanding that students with hijabs be denied entry into campuses. They argued that hijabs violated the rules on uniforms.
In February, several other colleges also decided to ban students from wearing headscarves. In the following days, numerous videos surfaced showing Muslim female students being stopped at college gates, forced to remove their burqas and hijabs outside, harassed by teachers and right-wing student groups, and, in some cases, being sent home if they refused to take off their headscarves. Additionally, instances of hoisting saffron flags on school flagpoles were reported in Shivamogga.The state witnessed strong protests by student unions and the Muslim community at large against the restriction on hijab. Karnataka witnessed Muslim girls dropping out from government institutions and pre- university colleges. Those who could afford it opted for private institutions to continue their studies, while others vanished from the page of educational statistics.
The Government of Karnataka, utilising powers under the ‘Karnataka Education Act, 1983’, section 145(1), has granted recognized educational institutions the authority to determine uniforms for their students. This provision allows educational institutions to maintain a level of autonomy where the state cannot intervene in matters such as regulating fees or uniforms, even if these regulations appear to infringe upon individual human rights. The ban on wearing burqa/hijabs in colleges is undoubtedly a restriction on Muslim women’s right to religion, as protected under the International Human Rights Law (IHRL). The central question revolves around the validity of this restriction. The government’s decision to prohibit hijab-clad students doesn’t seem to be supported by any specific law or government order, making it evidently illegal. Despite the government framing the ban as a measure to restrict religious symbols in educational institutions, there is no reported case of a Hindu student being denied entry for wearing tilak or having religious threads around their wrist in the state. Rather than viewing the ban as a mere restriction on a piece of cloth it is a direct assault on democracy and access to education for Muslim women. While the hijab is arguably seen as a strong symbol of patriarchy, combating patriarchy should not come at the expense of education. Coercively disrobing a woman is seen as equally detrimental to her agency as coercively veiling her. It is an attack on their autonomy.
The order to revoke the ban was passed last December, while a positive step, unfortunately did not result in efforts to bring back the drop-outs. The statistics on Muslim women’s access to education are indeed concerning.According to a report from 2007-2008, only 1% of Muslim women had access to education. Although there was a notable increase to 16% in 2017-2018, it
is troubling that 16% Muslim women dropped out of colleges under Mangalore University due to the ban. This university is situated in coastal Karnataka, an area that has experienced communal polarisation over the decades, particularly with the rise of Hindutva nationalism represented by organisations such as Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagarana Vedike, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) etc.
The fascist government’s decisions in the past few years have significantly jeopardised the education of Muslims in general. 4% reservation for Muslims under OBC category was scrapped and distributed among Vokkaliga and Lingayat castes, who are the upper caste communities historically enjoying the status of chieftains and zamindars. They already have major influence in governance along with the EWS quota of 10%.
Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI(ML) Liberation, aptly captures the situation by stating, “Muslims are emerging as India’s new Dalits.” This observation aligns with the concerning trend in higher education, where the Muslim student strength saw a decline of 1.79 lakh in 2020-21. In the academic year
2019-20, 21 lakh Muslim students were enrolled in higher education, but this number fell to 19.21 lakh in 2020-21. Many Muslim students come from low-income families and struggle to cover the cost of higher education. Rather than addressing these financial challenges through aid and reservations, the state has taken steps backwards by not only stripping reservations but also cancelling at least three scholarships that supported minority students pursuing pre-matric, MPhil, and PhD degrees.
Attacks on Muslim student activists and groups are also rampant. As a crackdown on student groups, the fascist government declared the Campus Front of India as an unlawful association under UAPA and imposed a temporary ban for 5 years with both the state government and the judiciary supporting the restriction. Activists like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima etc. are languishing indefinitely in jails under the UAPA. Police booked a bogus case on Atikur Rahman while on his way to show solidarity to the family of the dalit girl who was raped and murdered in Hathras. 7 Kashmiri Muslims were booked under UAPA claiming they celebrated when Australia won in a cricket match against India. There are numerous cases where students are falsely booked under UAPA, in fact 50% of those who are accused under UAPA are under 30.
In today’s India, the educational landscape stands as a stark reflection of systemic injustices and discriminatory practices perpetrated by the BJP government meant to target Muslim students. The challenges faced by Muslim students extend beyond educational barriers, encompassing a hostile environment where activism and dissent are met with unwarranted repression.
