‘Teacher threatened to push us out’: Students barred for hijab

A photograph of the students in headscarves and college dress, sitting on the staircase outside the classroom, has gone viral.

A group of six Muslim students at a government college in Karnataka’s Udupi district, who were denied entry into classrooms allegedly for wearing a hijab, have claimed that a teacher threatened to push them out of the class.

The six students have been barred by the college since the last week of December. (Representational image) (Representational Photo)

The six students have been barred by the college since the last week of December. A photograph of the students in headscarves and college dress, sitting on the staircase outside the classroom, has gone viral.

“We are still sitting outside the class. We are not allowed to go inside the classroom,” said Aliya Assadi, one of the six students. “One day, we had gone inside the classroom, but the teacher’s response was, ‘If you don’t go out of the class, I will push you out.”

College authorities said the students were in violation of the dress code.

According to the principal of the college, Rudra Gowda, the students can wear headscarves on the college premises, but not inside the classrooms. The rule is being implemented to ensure uniformity in classrooms, he said.

“There are no provisions to have hijab as the uniform in our school’s rules...They can attend classes if they remove the hijab...,” he added.

“Though it is our fundamental right, though it is our constitutional right, they are still not allowing us to go in the class because we are wearing hijab,” Assadi said. “There is a lot of discrimination in the college. We can’t speak in Urdu. We can’t do salam to each other.”

The All-India Lawyers Association For Justice has demanded an investigation by the state government. “The actions of the college administration and staff against the students is per se violative of the fundamental rights of the students,” the non-profit organization said in a statement.

Deputy commissioner on Udupi district and Karnataka education minister didn’t respond to the calls for a comment.

Yashpal Suvarna, vice-president of the college development committee, said: The protest was politically motivated as the students are members of the Campus Front, a students’ organisation.”