Karnataka Hijab Row: Pakistani Activist Malala asks Indians leaders to let girls go to school in hijab
Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and women’s rights activist, took to Twitter on Tuesday to express her outrage about the current hijab dispute in Karnataka, where Muslim girls wearing headscarves are being prevented from attending school.
Yousafzai described the refusal to allow girls to attend school wearing their hijab as “horrifying,” saying that women are still being objectified in one way or another, whether they wear less or more. The Nobel Laureate, who was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2012 for speaking out about girls’ rights and education, urged Indian officials to end Muslim women’s marginalisation.
“College is forcing us to choose between studies and the hijab”.
Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is horrifying. Objectification of women persists — for wearing less or more. Indian leaders must stop the marginalisation of Muslim women. https://t.co/UGfuLWAR8I
— Malala (@Malala) February 8, 2022
“Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is awful,” Malala remarked, quoting a report in which a Muslim student said they were forced to choose between education and the hijab. Women are still objectified based on how much or how little they wear. “Indian politicians must put an end to Muslim women’s marginalization.”
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka administration, led by Basavaraj Bommai, announced the closure of schools for three days as demonstrations erupted across the state.
Stone-pelting, police use of force, and Muslim girls standing firm for their right to wear headscarves erupted in ‘conflict-like’ situations on campuses, prompting calls for peace and calm from the government and the high court, which is hearing a petition from students over their right to wear the hijab.
“I appeal to all students, instructors, and management of schools and institutions, as well as the people of Karnataka to maintain peace and unity,” Bommai, who is in New Delhi, said.
