Karnataka Hijab Row hearing: Entire controversy explained, top updates in headscarf ban case

2022 Karnataka Hijab Row: The Supreme Court is all set to hear the case pertaining to the wearing of hijabs by schoolgirls in educational institutes in Karnataka after the hijab ban row in the state sparked a massive religious and political controversy.

The apex court on Monday will be hearing pleas against the Karnataka HC verdict that wearing hijab by women doesn't form an essential part of religious practice in Islam, as per the official Supreme Court schedule. It is likely that the court will deliver an important verdict in the case today.

The Karnataka hijab row controversy erupted earlier this year in several educational institutes of the state, where Muslim girls were banned from entering their schools since they were wearing headscarves or hijabs, as per the uniform guidelines.

What is the Karnataka hijab row?

In January 2022, several Muslim female students of the junior college were denied entry inside the school premises and made to miss their classes since they were wearing hijabs or headscarves, on the grounds that it violated the uniform policy of the school.

The dispute regarding the school uniform policy in Karnataka reached other institutes in the following few weeks, with several administrations now allowing Muslim students in hijab inside the classrooms. Many were also made to miss their exams during this period.

As Muslim students staged protests and urged authorities to allow them to wear hijabs, many Hindu students staged counter-protests, demanding to wear saffron scarves inside their classrooms. With many Muslim students missing out on their studies, a petition was filed in the Karnataka High Court challenging the uniform guidelines in the state.

Karnataka hijab row court case

After several petitions were filed against the school and university dress code in Karnataka, the High Court issued an interim order restraining all students from wearing any form of religious attire while attending classes. Further, the schools in the state were shut down due to protests.

The court further said upheld the rules implemented by the BJP-led state government, banning burqas and hijabs inside the school. Thus, several female students were made to remove their headscarves before entering the premises.

This sparked a major controversy in Karnataka, with groups of Muslim students protesting against the order and refusing to appear for exams. Several human rights activists such as Malala Yousafzai slammed the ban while Aaditya Thackeray and Taslima Nasreen defended it.

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