Karnataka Hijab Controversy: Motivated Comments On Our Internal Issues Not Welcome; Says MEA
New Delhi, Feb 12: A day after Rashad Hussain, US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, said that the “hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatise and marginalise women and girls”, India issued a statement saying “motivated comments on India’s internal issued are not welcome”.
While advocating for ‘religious freedom’, the US government official had said that religious freedom includes the ability to choose one’s religious attire.
The Indian state of Karnataka should not determine the permissibility of religious clothing, he tweeted.
Our response to media queries on India’s reaction to comments by some countries on dress code in some educational institutions in Karnataka:https://t.co/Mrqa0M8fVr pic.twitter.com/pJlGmw82Kp
— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) February 12, 2022
Reacting to this, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “A matter regarding dress code in some educational institutions in the State of Karnataka is under judicial examination by the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka. Our constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as our democratic ethos and polity, are the context in which issues are considered and resolved. Those who know India well would have a proper appreciation of these realities. Motivated comments on our internal issues are not welcome.”
The Taliban had also waded into the controversy and backed the Hijab-wearing protestors in Karnataka.
Taliban’s Deputy spokesperson Inamullah Samangani in a tweet lauded Muslim girls for wearing the Hijab and “defending their religious value”.
Terming the issue as a “struggle for Hijab” he further remarked that it shows that the Hijab is not an Arab, Iranian, Egyptian or Pakistani culture, but an “Islamic value”.
Demonstrations for and against the hijab, which intensified in different parts of Karnataka, have now spread beyond the state with similar protests erupting in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court, in its interim order pending consideration of all petitions related to the Hijab row, had earlier requested the state government to reopen educational institutions and restrained all the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, Hijab and any religious flag within the classroom.
