India has the highest rape rate, says state Congress leader

Amid the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka, state Congress leader Zameer Ahmed said on Sunday that India records a high number of rape cases because women here don't wear hijab.

Ahmed said, “Girls, when they grow up, should cover their face with veil to hide their beauty. I think that India has the highest number of rape cases in the world. What is the reason? The reason is that they don't cover their face. Wearing a hijab is not compulsory, and this has been the practice for years.”

Ahmed's comments came only a day before a three-judge panel of the Karnataka high court resumes hearings on petitions challenging the state government's 'hijab ban' at educational institutions. In the southern state, schools up to the tenth grade will reopen on Monday; however, the shutdown of degree and diploma colleges has been prolonged until February 16.

On February 8, the chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, ordered the closure of educational institutes after protests for and against the wearing of hijab on campuses erupted in many districts.

Former Karnataka legislative assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar, who is also a member of the Congress, sparked anger in December last year with a statement about rape, which he later termed as "off the cuff."

"But, wearing hijab is not compulsory, only those who want to protect themselves and those who don't want to show their beauty to everyone wear it. This has been in practice for years," the Congress MLA went even further with his heinous logic, said.

In the Islamic world, it is usual to link an increase in sexual assault cases to how women dress.

What started as a single school issuing an order to defend secularism in the classroom has turned into rallies and counter-protests in Karnataka, spreading across the country and beyond.

The demonstrations in Karnataka began after six girls from the Government Girls PU College in Udupi district claimed last month that they were banned from class because they wore headscarves.

Tensions became even further when some students in Udupi and elsewhere showed up in class wearing saffron shawls to indicate their support for the hijab ban at their schools.

In an interim decision issued Friday, the Karnataka High Court forbade pupils from wearing the hijab, saffron shawls, or other religious attire in class "until further orders." The court was hearing numerous petitions contesting the state's hijab ban. On February 14, the petitions will be heard again.