Bengaluru: Karnataka Education Minister B.C. Nagesh said on Friday that women wearing Hijab will not be allowed to come to the examination centres where SSLC (Class 10) and Secondary PUC examinations are taking place.
Talking to media in Bengaluru, he said "students will not be allowed to attend any exam in the state wearing a hijab. The same applies to board exams. Everyone must comply with the orders issued by the State High Court and attend the examination by the same order." The state government had also clarified earlier that it will not provide any provision or exemption for those who don't comply with the High Court order.
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, rejected the urgent hearing on the Hijab row case. Karnataka High Court upheld last week the government order on the Hijab ban in classrooms. The students' petitions were dismissed, saying Hijab is not an essential religious practice. Meanwhile, the Popular Front of India (PFI) has said it would stand with Karnataka Muslim girl students against the hijab ban in schools and colleges in the state.
Sharing the details of its resolution passed in its Malappuram National Executive Council meeting, the PFI on Friday also condemned the alleged restrictions on Muslim religious markers. The Karnataka BJP government's decision to introduce restrictions exclusively on Muslim religious markers clearly had divisive political motives behind it. Unfortunately, the High Court failed to see it and took a stand against a practice Muslim women in the country have held as part of their identity for centuries, the PFI said in a statement.
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