Indian Court Rejects Petitions Seeking Permission to Wear Hijab

Karnataka : The High Court has ruled in favor of banning hijab in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka. The High Court has rejected the petitions filed by Muslim students for permission to wear hijab in colleges.

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the ban on hijab in educational institutions, saying wearing the hijab was not a mandatory religious practice of the Islamic faith.
High Court Chief Justice Reto Raj Osthi said in his judgment that educational institutions have the right to recommend uniforms.

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It may be recalled that Muslim women students had filed a petition against the ban on wearing hijab by some colleges in Karnataka.

Background to the issue of hijab ban in educational institutions

In the state of Karnataka, which is ruled by the Hindu extremist party BJP, the local government had on February 5 ordered all schools and colleges to abide by the dress code set by the administration, which would ban the wearing of hijab and burqa.

After the verdict, some educational institutions of the state barred the admission of hijab-wearing female students against which the students and their parents protested while the famous actors of the country also raised their voices against it.