Hijab ban: Indian court begins hearings as pupils return to school

Some education institutions have barred students from wearing a headscarf

Indian police officers stand outside a government girls school in Udupi, Karnataka, as pupils arrive for class on February 14, 2022. Reuters

The Karnataka government banned public gatherings to prevent protests on Monday as the high court in the south Indian state began hearings on the constitutionality of schools and colleges barring female pupils and students from wearing the hijab.

A group of Muslim students petitioned the Karnataka High Court earlier this month after several schools and colleges in the state began enforcing rules against wearing the headscarf to class.

Muslim women wearing the hijab protest in Bangalore after students in the southern Indian state of Karnataka were barred from entering colleges wearing the traditional headscarves. EPA

A girl with a placard reading 'Hijab is not just a piece of cloth, it's our dignity'. EPA

Dozens of women have been protesting for weeks in a dispute that started when a college said students wearing the hijab were breaking dress policy. EPA

Hijab bans and demonstrations against them have since spread to other institutions in India. EPA

The women have received the backing of several organisations, while the colleges' stance has won the support of the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. EPA

An Indian Muslim woman attends one of the protests in Bangalore. EPA

The colleges' ruling is being challenged in court by women who say the right to wear the headscarf is guaranteed under India's secular constitution. EPA

A banner makes the case for the constitutional right to wear the hijab. EPA

Protests have been held for more than a month, since the first action was taken against six students in late December. EPA

Hijab-wearing students speak to their principal outside a college campus in Udupi. AP

Parents argue with a police official during a protest outside a college in Udupi. AP

The court on Thursday directed students not wear “religious dress” to class until it reached a decision, and ordered the reopening of schools and colleges that the state government had shut as protests against the hijab ban escalated.

Schools across the state opened on Monday but higher education institutions remained closed. Pupils and teachers wearing the hijab were seen being asked to remove them before being allowed to enter the schools.

India's Supreme Court on Friday refused to hear petitions against the high court's temporary ban on religious dress for students. Chief Justice N V Ramana appealed for calm while the lower court considered the issue, and promised to uphold students’ rights under the country’s secular constitution.

The Karnataka High Court said it would continue hearings on the issue on Tuesday.

The state government, run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, has defended the hijab ban, saying that allowing pupils to wear it disturbed uniformity and harmony.