Two Udupi students denied permission to write Karnataka PUC exam wearing hijab

Udupi, Karnataka: In another dramatic development in the Karnataka Hijab ban row, two students, who appeared for PU exams in Udupi wearing hijabs, were not allowed to enter the examination centre on Friday as the second PU examination began across the state. The students had urged the officials to allow them to write the exams wearing hijab but were sent out of the campus and were denied permission to write their exams.

Aliya Assadi and Resham had collected their hall tickets and turned up donning burqas to take the exams at the Vidyodaya PU College in Udupi.

They tried to convince the invigilators and the college principal for around 45 minutes but were eventually not allowed any exception to the court order upholding the state government's ban. They were then seen quietly leaving the premises without taking the exams.

The Karnataka Pre University Board is conducting the second Pre University exam (class 12 board exams) starting today. According to the education department, as many as 6,84,255 students have registered for the exams.

The exams will be held at 1,076 centres across the state amid unusually tight security this year with cops deployed at various centres to ensure there are no untoward incidents with regard to students following the dress code.

The state Education Minister BC Nagesh has categorically said that students won't be allowed to take their exams in the hijab. This comes in the wake of many Muslim female students requesting the Minister to allow them to wear their hijabs during the final exams.

The state government's order in this regard and the Karnataka High Court's verdict upholding the order, are under challenge in writ petitions before the Supreme Court pending hearing. The apex court however did not grant a stay until the final order, though the petitioners had pleaded foro it.

17-year-old Aliya Assadi who is at the forefront of the battle against the state's Hijab ban had last week made a renewed appeal to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai saying that he still had a chance "to stop our future from getting ruined".

In her appeal, Aliya, who is a state-level Karate champion, said the ban on hijab or headscarves will affect many students who want to appear in the Pre-University exams.

"You still have a chance to stop our future from getting ruined. You can make a decision to allow us to write exams wearing hijab. Please consider this. We are the future of this country," she had tweeted.

The Karnataka High Court on March 15 dismissed petitions seeking permission to wear hijab inside the classroom. Upholding the state ban, the court had said that wearing a hijab "is not an essential religious practice of Islam" and that the uniform dress rule should be followed in educational institutions where it has been prescribed.