'Indian court upholding ban on hijabs in class is disappointing'

NEW DELHI

As a court in southern India upheld the ban on wearing hijabs or headscarves in class in the state of Karanataka, a number of Muslim organizations in India cried foul at the ruling, vowing to challenge it in the Supreme Court.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld a ban on hijabs in classrooms, stating that wearing them was not an essential religious practice in Islam.

Late Tuesday afternoon, a student filed a petition with the Supreme Court against the ruling, local news outlet NDTV reported.

Balking at the High Court ruling, Indian Muslim leader and parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi said:

"Banning headscarves definitely harms devout Muslim women and their families as it prevents them from accessing education."

"I disagree with Karnataka High Court's judgement on hijab. It’s my right to disagree with the judgement & I hope that petitioners appeal before SC (Supreme Court)," he wrote on Twitter.

Owaisi said he hoped not just his organization, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, but "organizations of other religious groups appeal this judgment."

‘Denying women their choice'

Haseena Hashia Sahiba, a New Delhi-based member of the umbrella scholar body All India Muslim Personal Law Board, told Anadolu Agency that Muslims are equal citizens of India and that Muslim groups would approach the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling.

Two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, called the verdict "disappointing."

"Karnataka HC’s decision to uphold the hijab ban is deeply disappointing. On one hand, we talk about empowering women yet we are denying them the right to a simple choice. It isn’t just about religion but the freedom to choose," Mufti wrote on social media.

The Karnataka High court on Tuesday announced the verdict following petitions filed by women who were not allowed to attend classes as they were wearing hijabs.

The issue started in January when female Muslim students were barred from entering their classrooms at a government college in Udupi, Karnataka because they were wearing headscarves. The ban soon spread to other local institutions.

In Tuesday's ruling, the court said: "Wearing of hijab by Muslim women doesn't form a part of essential religious practice in the Islamic faith."

‘Direct impact on religious freedom’

Mohammad Salman Ahmad, national president of the Students Islamic Organisation of India – the students' wing of socio-religious organization Jamaat-e-Islami – said it is not "the job of courts to interpret what is essential or non-essential about any faith."

"We stand with all Muslim women students who are aggrieved by the Government Order that has been upheld by the court. We are currently seeking legal opinion on possible remedies," Ahmad said in a statement.

Jamiat Ulama-i- Hind, India's largest socio-religious Muslim organization, said the verdict "is deeply disappointing. This verdict would have a direct impact on religious freedom."

Many experts say the ruling will be a blow to Muslim women's education.

"Now the Muslim girl students face a huge challenge. The community has been working very hard to get Muslim students into colleges and schools, there has been quite a good number of students attending the classes. Now this judgment is a severe blow to the educations rights of Muslim girl students," Asma Zehram, chief organizer of the Women's Wing of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, told Anadolu Agency. "At the same time, we find it very sad and tragic that the courts have failed to uphold the rights of the minorities of the Muslim community in India."

In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, the girls who had challenged the verdict said they had been denied justice.

"The High Court order has come against us. We will try all the legal ways and will fight for it," said one of the students, adding: "We will fight for justice and our rights."

Welcoming the ruling, Yashpal Suvarna, a local leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka, told Anadolu Agency: "At the cost of students, the provocation was done by anti-social organizations. They have learned a lesson from this order because this order affects all the colleges in the state. So everyone should follow the court order, if not it will be a contempt of court. We are happy with the move of the court.”