‘I will continue my education now’: Karnataka student who dropped out of college after hijab row

“I did get opportunities from colleges in other cities but I refused to take them up. I want to be in my hometown and continue my education. I just hope that issues like the hijab are never politicised. Like anybody else, my education is also important and I would hope for an environment like before in colleges,” she says.

On Friday, Siddaramaiah said in Mysuru that the choice of dress and food was personal and no one should interfere in it.

Khan, who was scheduled to appear for the third semester in April 2022, will now have to take up the same semester to continue her education. She said she was confident that the Supreme Court too would rule in favour of Muslim students.

“When examinations were held in 2022, we requested the authorities to at least allow students with hijab but they refused. We want her to continue her education. Let the school and college environment stay away from politics,” says Khan’s father Mohammad Hussain.

School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said on Saturday, “I will talk to the chief minister about the announcement he made yesterday based on which I will direct the education department officials to take the right decision.”

Bangarappa said he would also consult legal experts on the matter to see if the (hijab) ban order can be revoked and if the hijab can be allowed while maintaining the legal sanctity. “Since this is a sensitive issue, we have to deal with it carefully. But it is not necessary to politicise the issue. For the same reason, people have unseated the BJP from power,” he added.

‘It is your choice’, says Siddaramaiah; Bommai questions need for statement

On Friday, Siddaramaiah, who was in Nanjangud in Mysuru district to inaugurate three police stations, took a dig at the BJP. “They (BJP) say ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but sidelining those wearing caps, burqa and sporting beard. Is this what they mean? You can wear hijab. I have instructed (the officials) that there will be no restriction from tomorrow onwards. You can wear and eat whatever you want. It is up to you… your choices are yours and my choices are mine. It is that simple,” Siddaramaiah. “I wear dhoti and kurta, and you wear pant and shirt. It is your choice. What is wrong in this?” he asked.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday accused Siddaramaiah of raking up the hijab issue to cover up the failures of his government and for political gains. The hijab, Bommai said, was not banned all over the state but only not allowed where there was a dress code. “Muslim women are permitted to wear the hijab everywhere. When the hijab is not banned, where is the question of lifting the ban?” he questioned.

Bommai said the hijab issue was being discussed at the international level and women in Iran and Iraq have launched a struggle seeking freedom from it. “What was the need for the CM to make a statement on the row when the apex court was seized of the matter? I am confident that the court will take note of the same,” he said.