Indian girl students who were barred from entering their classrooms for wearing hijab, a headscarf used by Muslim women, speak to their principal outside the college campus in Udupi, India, Friday, February 4, 2022.
Credit: Bangalore News Photos via AP
The wearing of hijab (headscarf) by Muslim women triggered heated debate and discussion in India recently when teenage Muslim students were barred from classes for wearing the hijab to college. The incident quickly snowballed, with other educational institutions in the southern state of Karnataka refusing to allow hijab-wearing students to attend class.
The issue has triggered discussion over whether wearing the hijab is a part of South Asian culture or a Middle Eastern import.
South Asia has generally been flexible on religious dress codes. This flexibility lies in the region’s multireligious character and culture of tolerance. India is the birthplace of several world religions…
