NEW DELHI: A high court in India’s southern state of Karnataka upheld on Tuesday a ban on the wearing of hijab in classrooms, in a decision that said the Muslim head covering is not a part of “essential religious practice.”
The controversy took off in late January after Muslim girls at a government-run secondary school in Karnataka’s Udupi district began protesting a new rule that prevented them from attending classes if they wore the hijab.
After the local administration backed the school and banned the wearing of the hijab and “clothes which disturbed peace” at educational institutions, a small peaceful protest held by the Udupi schoolgirls grew into rallies that spilled to other states.
The Karnataka High Court decision comes after weeks of deliberations following petitions arguing that India’s constitution guaranteed Muslim women the right to wear headscarves.
The court dismissed the pleas, saying the state government had the right to prescribe uniforms for students.
“The school regulations prescribing dress code for all the students as one homogenous class, serve constitutional secularism,” Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi of the Karnataka High Court said in the judgment.
“We are of the considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice.”
The court also said that students cannot object to school uniform, as prescribing it is a “reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible.”
Activists fear the hijab ban could pave the way for further discriminatory measures targeting the Muslim community, which makes up about 12 percent of the population in Karnataka, a state that is a stronghold of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The verdict is unacceptable, unjust and violates human rights, constitutional rights and dehumanizing Muslim women and a disturbing precedent,” student activist Afreen Fatima said.
“The ruling BJP and the right-wing forces have co-opted Indian institutions and the court is also becoming a tool in the hands of the majoritarian forces to further humiliate Muslims.”
Since coming to power in 2019, the local government has passed a series of rules seen as discriminating against Muslims and other religious minorities, including regulations making it difficult for interfaith couples to marry, and for people to convert to Islam or Christianity.
Poet and teacher Nabiya Khan, who wears the hijab, said the verdict is “emotionally exhausting.”
Shayma S, Muslim activist and doctoral student at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, told Arab News it amounted to “literal denial of education and women’s right to exercise their choice.”
“The rights of the minorities are being violated in many ways, this is one more layer to that violation,” she said, as she expressed hope that the Karnataka ruling will be reversed.
Anas Tanveer, a lawyer representing the petitioners, said the decision is going to be appealed against in the Supreme Court.
“The court has gone into essential religious practice when it should not have,” he told Arab News.
“The question essentially is whether the state has power to issue such notifications which are against the law, the statute or the rules.”
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Indian court upholds state ban on hijab in schools and colleges
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https://arab.news/ndbt6
Indian court upholds state ban on hijab in schools and colleges
- Controversy took off in late January after Muslim girls in Karnataka were prevented them from attending classes if they wore the hijab
- Local administration backed the school and banned the wearing of the hijab and ‘clothes which disturbed peace’ at educational institutions
At Grammys, ‘ICE out’ message loud and clear
- Music’s A-listers on Sunday lashed out at the immigration raids rocking the United States at the Grammy Awards, with Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny setting the tone
LOS ANGELES: Music’s A-listers on Sunday lashed out at the immigration raids rocking the United States at the Grammy Awards, with Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny setting the tone.
Anger was palpable at President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, whose heavily armed and masked agents have been deployed in multiple US cities.
The killing of two US citizens by federal agents last month in Minneapolis raised the temperature for many Americans, already anxious over what they think are unfocused operations unjustly sweeping up anyone who speaks Spanish or has brown skin.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ‘ICE out’,” Bad Bunny said to cheers from the audience in Los Angeles — only a week before he is due to headline the Super Bowl halftime show.
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens; we are humans and we are Americans,” the singer said after being given the Grammy for Best Musica Urbana Album.
The reggaeton star was not alone in calling out the actions of ICE, one of the lead agencies involved in the crackdown.
Among the couture frocks by Valentino, Chanel and Saint Laurent on the red carpet, several of those attending added an “ICE out” button to their outfits.
They included power couple Justin and Hailey Bieber, veteran songstress Joni Mitchell, US singer Jordan Tyson and actress and singer Helen J. Shen.
“I’m scared, I’m very worried,” Gloria Estefan told AFP backstage after winning the Grammy for best tropical Latin album.
“I don’t think anyone would say we want a free-for-all at the border, but what is happening is not at all ‘criminals being arrested’.
“These are people that have families, that have contributed to this country for decades, little children. There are hundreds of children in detention centers. It’s inhumane. I don’t recognize my country at this moment.”
“I guess I want to say I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” British singer Olivia Dean — who has an English father and a Jamaican-Guyanese mother — said after scooping the prestigious Best New Artist Grammy.
“I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
“Immigrants built this country,” the breakout country star Shaboozey, who was born in Virginia to Nigerian parents, told the audience after winning the Grammy for best country duo/group performance with Jelly Roll.
“So this is for them, for all children of immigrants. This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be a part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it,” said the artist.
“Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions here. You give America color.”
US singer Billie Eilish, whose “Wildflower” scored the Grammy for Song of the Year, said she felt grateful for the award.
But, she added: “As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything, but that no one is illegal on stolen land.
“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
“It’s incredibly dystopian that we’re dressed up and able to celebrate accolades... and people are getting snatched up and shot in the face on the street,” said R&B singer SZA, who shared Record of the Year honors with Kendrick Lamar.
“It just feels bizarre, and I find so many of us don’t really know how to feel right now, besides rage and hopelessness,” she said.
“I just don’t want everyone to fall into despair, because when you lose... morale, change becomes impossible.”
Anger was palpable at President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, whose heavily armed and masked agents have been deployed in multiple US cities.
The killing of two US citizens by federal agents last month in Minneapolis raised the temperature for many Americans, already anxious over what they think are unfocused operations unjustly sweeping up anyone who speaks Spanish or has brown skin.
“Before I say thanks to God, I’m gonna say ‘ICE out’,” Bad Bunny said to cheers from the audience in Los Angeles — only a week before he is due to headline the Super Bowl halftime show.
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens; we are humans and we are Americans,” the singer said after being given the Grammy for Best Musica Urbana Album.
The reggaeton star was not alone in calling out the actions of ICE, one of the lead agencies involved in the crackdown.
Among the couture frocks by Valentino, Chanel and Saint Laurent on the red carpet, several of those attending added an “ICE out” button to their outfits.
They included power couple Justin and Hailey Bieber, veteran songstress Joni Mitchell, US singer Jordan Tyson and actress and singer Helen J. Shen.
“I’m scared, I’m very worried,” Gloria Estefan told AFP backstage after winning the Grammy for best tropical Latin album.
“I don’t think anyone would say we want a free-for-all at the border, but what is happening is not at all ‘criminals being arrested’.
“These are people that have families, that have contributed to this country for decades, little children. There are hundreds of children in detention centers. It’s inhumane. I don’t recognize my country at this moment.”
“I guess I want to say I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” British singer Olivia Dean — who has an English father and a Jamaican-Guyanese mother — said after scooping the prestigious Best New Artist Grammy.
“I’m a product of bravery, and I think those people deserve to be celebrated.”
“Immigrants built this country,” the breakout country star Shaboozey, who was born in Virginia to Nigerian parents, told the audience after winning the Grammy for best country duo/group performance with Jelly Roll.
“So this is for them, for all children of immigrants. This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be a part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it,” said the artist.
“Thank you for bringing your culture, your music, your stories and your traditions here. You give America color.”
US singer Billie Eilish, whose “Wildflower” scored the Grammy for Song of the Year, said she felt grateful for the award.
But, she added: “As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything, but that no one is illegal on stolen land.
“It’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting, and our voices really do matter, and the people matter.”
“It’s incredibly dystopian that we’re dressed up and able to celebrate accolades... and people are getting snatched up and shot in the face on the street,” said R&B singer SZA, who shared Record of the Year honors with Kendrick Lamar.
“It just feels bizarre, and I find so many of us don’t really know how to feel right now, besides rage and hopelessness,” she said.
“I just don’t want everyone to fall into despair, because when you lose... morale, change becomes impossible.”
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