Karnataka Hijab Row: Angered students skip classes, exams after being stopped for wearing hijabs

The hijab row in Karnataka is further intensifying, with tensions increasing after the reopening of schools in the state by the government. In recent news, students have reportedly refused to appear for their exams after being stopped at the institute gate for wearing a hijab.

According to media reports, over 35 students in Kodagu began a demonstration outside their school campus after they were denied entry inside classes for wearing a hijab. Similar incidents emerged from across the state as students decided to skip out on classes and exams and participate in protests against the dress code rule in Karnataka educational institutes.

Reports came from Shivmogga where several students decided not to appear for their exams on Tuesday after they were not allowed to enter schools wearing a hijab on Monday. After this, as many as 80 girls from a school in Kalburgi decided not to show up in class for similar reasons.

Reports of students skipping their exams in Shivmogga and Udupi emerged after they were not allowed to enter their school wearing a hijab, and were also made to sit in a different room from those who didn’t wear hijabs, according to media reports.

Though parents claimed that children wearing hijabs were made to sit in a different room than other students, a district official told news agency ANI that no such incident took place. This comes as the Karnataka High Court has instructed all the students to not wear any religious attire or symbols in classrooms.

One student told ANI, “I will not remove the hijab. I used to attend school earlier with the hijab. The school asked us to either remove the hijab or leave. They did not allow us to appear for exams.”

According to ANI reports, parents also said that they would not be sending their students to school till the time the Karnataka High Court doesn’t issue its ruling in the petition raised by six students against the ban on hijabs in educational institutes.

The schools and colleges in Karnataka remained closed for a week amid the hijab row to maintain peace and harmony in educational institutes. The schools have reopened up to Class 10, while the schools for Classes 11 and 12 and the colleges in Karnataka are set to reopen on February 16.

(With ANI inputs)