Student group sees conspiracy to dehumanise Muslim women in Hijab row in India

Amidst growing opposition to hijab by Hindu extremists in India, especially Karnataka with more colleges shutting their gates on Muslim girls, the Campus Front of India has termed the ban on the Islamic headscarf as part of an organised India-wide conspiracy against Muslim women.

A statement issued by CFI after a press conference organised by its women leaders in Bangalore, said it perceives the opposition to hijab “an organised nationwide conspiracy is systematically executed by the rightwing Hindutva groups to dehumanise Muslim women”.

Referring to the recent online attacks targetting Muslim women, the statement read: “Auctioning Muslim women activists at online platforms, denial of fundamental rights to Muslim students in Karnataka and Kerala are part of a larger conspiracy”.

The student group which is active in southern states slammed the government for its “callous response” to such incidents. “The conspirators of online auction belong to Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which proves an organised network behind this serious crime. The police were inactive against this serious crime till the Maharashtra Police arrested a few persons involved in the conspiracy,” said CFI.

“All the arrested young individuals have Hindutva connections beyond the states.”

In the Udupi College, which was, of late, in the news for its sudden decision to ban hijab, the CFI alleged the principal ordered the removal of headscarves out of the blue, ostensibly not without pressure from the management headed by a BJP MLA.

Muslim girls there have been wearing hijab to the college for long but faced no resistance before the principal’s intransigence, CFI noted. But as a group of youths, presumably indoctrinated by the Sangh Parivar, started parading saffron mufflers inside the college with a vengeance, as a counter to the girls attending classes wearing hijab, the colleges started banning the headscarf in frenzy.

The group said it was disappointing to see the colleges denying the fundamental constitutional rights to Muslim girls. “It only helps the hate-mongers,” said the group demanding a fair investigation into the issues involved in the case and arrest of the persons behind them. The CFI urged all citizens to express their solidarity with the students who are fighting to protect their constitutional rights.

Meanwhile, students putting on saffron shawls took out rallies in Karantaka’s Udupi as a counter to hijab-wearing Muslim girls’ demonstrations for their right to wear hijab in colleges. The move, however, came under sharp criticism on the social media for it pits students against their classmates.