CM Siddu: We will reverse hijab ban

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: In an important decision which will have a bearing on educational institutions in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah disclosed that his government will be withdrawing the ban on hijab imposed by the previous BJP government and an order will soon be issued in this regard.

The CM made the remarks after laying the foundation stone for the Pathrika Bhavana and Training Center of the District Journalists Association in Mysuru.

“I have issued directions to withdraw the Government Order (pertaining to the ban). What you choose to dress yourself in and what you choose to eat is your choice. Why should I hinder you? You may wear what you want and eat what you want,” Siddaramaiah said.

The controversy erupted back in late December 2021 and January 2022 when a government PU college in Udupi had disallowed entry to hijab-clad women students.

This despite the college prospectus specifying that as long as the colour of the headscarf matched the uniform dupatta, it would be deemed acceptable.

The issue became relevant to other colleges as right wing groups began protesting the presence of hijab-clad students in other colleges.

On February 5, 2022, the State government issued an order, demanding that students wear a uniform and “in the event of an administrative committee not selecting a unifor m, clothes which disturb equality, integrity and public law and order should not be worn,” indirectly referring to headscarves.

This led to scores of Muslim women students dropping out of their colleges. Hijabi petitioners then moved the Karnataka High Court (HC) which upheld the ban declaring that hijab wasn’t an “essential religious practice” in Islam.

The case was then taken to the Supreme Court (SC). On October 13 last year, the two-judge bench of the SC delivered a split verdict on the issue and referred the matter to a larger bench.