“The brave students are unwilling to compromise on their right to practice their religion. Nevertheless they are concerned about missing their exams which is adding on to the anxieties.”

NEW DELHI – A delegation of Muslim women, during their visit to Karnataka to take stock of the situation arising from hijab row, has found that hijab wearing students are burdened with anxieties and mental trauma due to insecurity in the wake of unethical media coverage and physical violence.

The delegation comprising three well-known women activists associating with Fraternity Movement, Afreen Fatima, Ladeeda Farzana and Ayesha Renna, issued a statement on Monday after interacting with hijab wearing students in various districts of the state.

“The brave students are unwilling to compromise on their right to practice their religion. Nevertheless they are concerned about missing their exams which is adding on to the anxieties and insecurities that surround them. These are teenage students who are burdened to brave this Herculean fight for identity and dignity,” observed the women activists in their statement.

Calling the Karnataka government’s order against hijab “problematic”, they said it is enabling “apartheid” against Muslim women.

“We have found that hundreds of Muslim women are expelled from attending classes in the southern state, following the court interim order, in prima facia violation of human rights. The interim order is not only problematic to the beliefs and practices of the Muslim community but in fact enabling apartheid against Muslim women. In the name of uniformity and law & order, they are being humiliated and dehumanized,” said the delegation.

The delegation also found that Muslim male students are also being harassed and physically assaulted by their classmates affiliated to Hindutva groups. They are also asked to wear saffron stoles and shout “Jai Shree Ram”.

“A non-Muslim student who refused to wear the saffron stole was stabbed. The way students associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and other rightwing outfits are attacking without any checks is deeply concerning and unsettling,” read the statement of the delegation.

The activists also raised concerns over the statements of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Karnataka government’s minister with regard to the issue of hijab and Muslim women. They also pointed out that the local and regional media has played a nefarious role in the entire matter.

“Saffron television channels are using this incident to demonise and stereotype Muslims to manufacture a collective apathy that will further normalise attacks on Muslims and their religious practices,” they said.

The delegation demanded revocation of the hijab ban unconditionally so that the hijab wearing students could appear for the exams and police action against Hindutva outfits for criminalising the Hijab issue and Shivamogga violence.

For weeks, hundreds of Muslim teenagers and women have been campaigning for their right to wear hijab in the schools and colleges. In an interim order, the Karnataka High Court banned all religious attires in the classrooms.