- India’s southern Karnataka state has closed schools following protests, after some schools refused entry to students wearing hijabs
- Officials said schools will remain closed for three days
- Media reports said several schools in the city of Udupi had denied entry to Muslim girls wearing hijabs, following an education ministry order, resulting in protests from parents and students
NEW DELHI, India: India’s southern Karnataka state has closed schools following protests, after some schools refused entry to students wearing hijabs.
Officials said schools will remain closed for three days.
Media reports said several schools in the city of Udupi had denied entry to Muslim girls wearing hijabs, following an education ministry order, resulting in protests from parents and students.
Tensions in Udupi have increased after Hindu students showed their support of the schools’ hijab ban.
On February 5, the government of Karnataka, in which 12 percent of the population is Muslim,
ordered all schools to enforce dress codes which ban the hijab.
B.C. Nagesh, the education minister of Karnataka, said school dress codes had been set after reviewing court decisions concurring in the ban of hijabs.
Meanwhile, a Moslem student has appealed to the courts, claiming that wearing a hijab was a fundamental right to religion guaranteed by the Indian constitution.
