Woman asked to remove hijab for taking Hindi Prachar Sabha exam in Tamil Nadu

“I informed the principal that I am a teacher and I cannot remove my hijab. The principal was not ready to listen to my explanations. I was standing for a couple of minutes hoping he would leave the place and I can continue my test. However, the school correspondent came in some time, raised her voice and said that she cannot allow me to take the exam If I wear the hijab. She took away my writing pad, kept it outside and told me to move out and enter the exam hall only after removing my hijab,” she told reporters.

Shabana said that within 20 minutes after she began writing, she was asked by the school principal, who came for invigilation, to remove her hijab.

According to Shabana, the school correspondent also asked her to submit a letter saying that she did not want to take the exam if she had to remove the hijab.

Shabana told the correspondent the hijab was like a uniform and that as a teacher, if she removed her hijab, students would think they could remove theirs also. “She said I cannot argue with her. Despite pleading with her for some time and saying that I can remove the nose piece, she was not ready to allow me,” the candidate said.

Shabana also said that she was made to wait for close to an hour by the authorities as they continued arguing with her, disallowing her to take the exam.

After members of the Social Democratic Party of India protested in front of the exam centre, police arrived there.

“This is a democratic, secular country. Each one has their religious rights and no one should be allowed to take away anyone’s religious freedom. When we asked the principal if there was any government order on this, we were told that the Hindi Prachar Sabha secretary had informed them,” said Mustaq Baasha, SDPI president in Tiruvannamalai district.

“The government should provide justice to the woman and take stringent action against the authorities for discrimination,” the SDPI leader said, adding that such incidents could not be allowed to take place in Tamil Nadu, “the land of Periyar”.

An official from the district education department told indianexpress.com that the exam was conducted by the Hindi Prachar Sabha and not the state government, adding that the government had not issued any such order insisting that candidates should remove their hijab.

“This is a sensitive issue. Usually, when the candidates wear the hijab, female invigilators verify their identity and allow them to take the exam. Here, an unfortunate situation occurred. After several rounds of talks and the invention of higher officials, the candidate was allowed to sit for the exam with her hijab on, but she said she was not in the right frame of mind to take it,” the officer said.

A response from the Hindi Prachar Sabha is awaited.