advertisement
Six students on Tuesday, 1 February, were denied permission to enter a classroom after they refused to remove their hijab at the government Pre-University College in Udupi, Karnataka, Times of India reported.
On Tuesday, despite staff instructions to vacate the campus, the Muslim girls sat in the campus at least till noon. Media entry was reportedly banned in the campus.
The incident also occurred on World Hijab Day.
The students have asserted that wearing a hijab is a fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution and nobody can take away that right, Deccan Herald reported.
"We are practising Muslims, and the hijab is a part of our faith. Along with that, we are also students with aspirations for a career and a good life. Why are we suddenly expected to choose between our identity and our education? That isn’t fair at all,” one of the students, Aliya Assadi, had told The Quint.
Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday, 27 January, issued a notice to the Karnataka government over the controversy.
(With inputs from Deccan Herald and Times of India.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)