Karnataka – India (BBC) 02/09/2022 07:11
Malala Yousafzai poses for hijab row in Karnataka, India
- Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has spoken out about her support for six Indian students fighting for his right to wear a headscarf in class.
- Teenage girls in Karnataka have demonstrated for weeks, drawing attention to the college’s ban on headscarves – which Malala described as “horrifying”.
- Teenage girls started their protest after the administration banned them from wearing the headscarf in class at their pre-university college
she spoke Malala Yousafzai The Nobel Peace Prize winner for her support of six Indian students fighting for his right to wear a headscarf in class.
Teenage girls in Karnataka have demonstrated for weeks, drawing attention to the college’s ban on headscarves – which Malala described as “horrifying”.
The dispute has spread and inflamed religious tensions within the state, with reports of clashes breaking out.
As a result, schools were closed for three days.
The dispute has also grabbed national headlines in India, and has now reached the state supreme court.
The petition submitted by one of the students to the court stated that wearing hijab It is a fundamental right of religion guaranteed by the constitution.
On Tuesday, Malala – who was 15 when she survived an attack by the Taliban in Pakistan for speaking out about girls’ right to education – called on India’s leaders to do something to “stop the marginalization of Muslim women”.
“Refusal to allow girls to go to school wearing the hijab is terrifying,” the 24-year-old activist wrote on Twitter. “The continuation of mutilating women – to wear less or more.”
The teenage girls began their protest after the administration banned them from wearing a headscarf in class at their government-run pre-university college, which is the equivalent of a high school.
Since then, this problem has escalated to other colleges in Karnataka – last week, a video showing college gates closing for a group of young women wearing headscarves sparked outrage.
But it has also seen a hardline Hindu protest in support of the ban.
On Tuesday, local media reported that clashes between the two sides were believed to have resulted in a number of wounded.
The chief minister of the state, Basavaraj Bhumai, closed schools for three days and appealed to “all students, teachers, management of schools and colleges as well as the people of Karnataka to maintain peace and harmony”.
