Malala Yousafzai questions Indian politicians over hijab row

Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Prize winner, has spoken out about Muslim students in Karnataka who claim they were denied access to campuses and classrooms because they were wearing the hijab. “Refusing to allow girls attend to school in their hijabs is horrible,” the girls’ education activist tweeted.

The hijab protest started last month at the Government Girls PU College in Udupi, Karnataka, when six students said they were prevented from classes because they wanted to wear the headscarf. In Udupi and Chikkamagaluru, right-wing groups opposed to Muslim girls wearing the headscarf to school.

The controversy quickly spread beyond Karnataka’s boundaries, surfacing in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry. Madhya Pradesh’s minister ruled in favour of “discipline” and a “uniform clothing code.” Authorities in Puducherry have asked the head of a government school to look into accusations that a teacher objected to students wearing headscarves in class.

Taking notice of the events, Ms. Yousafzai tweeted, “It’s terrible that girls aren’t allowed to go to school in their hijabs. Women are still objectified based on how much or how little they wear. The marginalization of Muslim women in India must end.”

The post has since provoked a sharp response from BJP MLA and party national general secretary CT Ravi.

“Who is this MOOLAH interfering in the internal affairs of India? Shouldn’t she be hiding behind her burqa?” Ravi said.

Malala Yousafzai:

Ms Yousafzai was born in Pakistan. She was shot by Taliban militants when she was 11 years old in 2012 for openly speaking up on behalf of girls and their right to education, making her a target in Pakistan, where “welcoming a baby girl is not necessarily cause for celebration,” as she put it. She was taken to a hospital in Birmingham, where she recovered and went on to continue her campaign for female education. After months of operations and therapy, she reunited with her family in their new home in the United Kingdom in 2014. With the aid of her father, she founded Malala Fund, a non-profit dedicated to ensuring that every girl has the opportunity to pursue the future she desires.

Ms. Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 for her efforts, making her the youngest Nobel laureate ever. She moved on to the University of Oxford to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, graduating in 2020.

Schools to remain closed in Karnataka:

For the next three days, all schools and colleges in Karnataka will be closed. Basavaraj S Bommai, the Chief Minister, has appealed for “peace and unity.” Five women from a government college in Udupi have filed applications in the Karnataka High Court challenging hijab prohibitions.

'Allah Hu Akbar’ Muslim girl shouts

A student in a burqa was heckled by a huge number of slogan-shouting, saffron scarf-wearing boys in a college in Mandya, the hijab vs. saffron scarf row in Karnataka colleges took on a terrifying form.

The Mandya pre-University college has released video of a fight between a Muslim student and a saffron-clad mob.

When students wearing saffron scarves shout “Jai Shri Ram” and come towards the young woman in the video, she parks her scooter and walks to the college building.

“Allah hu Akbar!” the Muslim student responds! 

Read more about Karnataka Hijab Row: 

https://arthparkash.com/english/karnataka-hc-hears-the-petition-against-the-hijab-row