“The humiliation of being asked to leave my classroom
for wearing a head scarf by college officials has shaken my core belief,”
said the 21-year-old student from southern Karnataka’s Udupi district, where
protests over the head covering ban began.
“My religion has been questioned and insulted by a
place which I had considered as a temple of education,” she told Reuters.
“It is more like telling us you chose between your
religion or education, that’s a wrong thing,” she said after studying for
five years at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial college in Udupi.
Several Muslim girls who protested the ban had received
threatening calls and were forced to stay indoors, she added.
College officials say students are allowed to wear the hijab
on campus and only asked them to take it off inside the classroom.
Udupi is one of three districts in Karnataka’s religiously
sensitive coastal region, which is a stronghold of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The stand-off has increased fear and anger among minority
Muslims, who say the country’s constitution grants them the freedom to wear
what they want. Protests over the ban have escalated, with hundreds
demonstrating this month in Kolkata and Chennai.
Last week, a judge at the state’s high court referred
petitions challenging the ban to a larger panel.
The issue is being closely watched internationally as a test
of religious freedom guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
The US Office of International Religious Freedom (IRF) on
Friday said the hijab bans “violate religious freedom and stigmatise and
marginalise women and girls.”
In response, India’s foreign ministry on Saturday said outside
comments over internal issues were not welcome and the matter was under
judicial review.
Imthiaz and six other Muslim girls protesting the ban say
they are determined to fight for their religious freedom in the face of some
hardline Hindu students and even some of their friends.
“It is really hurtful to see our own friends going
against us and telling ‘I have a problem with you wearing the hijab’…its
affected our bonds and mental health,” Imthiaz said.
(Note: This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed. PriyaSaha.Com Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. Please visit the Source Website that deserves the credit and responsibility for creating this content.)
