Student at centre of Kerala hijab row decides to pull out of school, father says institute’s stand ‘pained her’

St Rita’s School in the Palluruthy area has been at the centre of the controversy after a student who took admission in June started attending classes wearing a hijab from October 8. When school authorities denied permission for her to wear the hijab, citing their uniform dress code, members of the local Muslim community protested at the school. Following this, the school approached the High Court and obtained police protection for the institution.

The girl’s father said the school’s stance has pained her and that she no longer wants to study there.

Speaking to the media on Friday, he said, “The school principal had said that my daughter wearing a hijab will create fear among others. That stand has pained my daughter. I don’t want to see the issue lead to a communal issue between Christians and Muslims. School authorities say that they want to ensure a secular dress code — is the shawl worn by my daughter not secular? The government has taken a favourable stand on my complaint, but I do not want to see the issue worsen.”

School principal Heleena Alby said the girl can continue in the school if she is willing to follow its rules and regulations. “Many issues in this regard are before the court. Let the law take its own course,” she said.

Taking a tough stand against the school management, CPI(M) leader and Education Minister V Sivankutty said, “The girl has every right to study in the school. The reason for her decision to move out of the school has to be examined. The school has to give an answer to the government in this regard. We have the Constitution, the National Education Policy and the Right to Education Act. Decisions have to be taken based on these. The girl is under mental pressure, and the issue should have been settled. The government wants to give protection to the girl and ensure her education. We cannot agree with the arrogant stance of the PTA, the principal and their advocate.”

Earlier, acting upon a complaint from the girl’s parent, Sivankutty had ordered a departmental probe and found lapses on the part of the school management. Subsequently, he ordered the school to allow the girl to wear a hijab.

The issue has snowballed into a major debate on social and conventional media regarding wearing the hijab in school. While Catholic Malayalam daily Deepika has called the incident a fallout of the “political silence” regarding fundamentalism, the Suprabhatham daily, associated with the Muslim clerics’ body SAMASTHA, came out against the school management, saying in an editorial that “those who claim to be above the Constitution are not only communal, but also anti-national”.

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