In his ruling in the case of Aishat Shifa v. State of Karnataka on Thursday in the Karnataka hijab row case, Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia of the Supreme Court stated that a Muslim girl’s right to wear a hijab does not stop at the school gate because she also has a right to privacy and dignity inside the classroom.
A girl kid asking permission to wear the hijab is not too much to ask in a democracy, according to Justice Dhulia in a ruling that calls for accommodation and adjustment of other cultures, religions, and languages.
A girl child has the right to wear hijab in her house or outside her house, and that right does not stop at her school gate. The child carries her dignity and her privacy even when she is inside the school gates, in her classroom,
The Supreme court Held
Relevantly, the judge emphasised the importance of constitutional principles and the fact that the Constitution is a symbol of the faith that minorities have in the majority.
Amongst many facets of our Constitution, one is Trust. Our Constitution is also a document of Trust. It is the trust the minorities have reposed upon the majority
The Bech held
In the case contesting the Karnataka government order (GO), which effectively gives government colleges in the State the authority to forbid Muslim female students from wearing the hijab on college campuses, the Supreme Court issued a divided decision today.
While Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia overturned the government decision, Chief Justice Hemant Gupta upheld it. The Karnataka High Court’s decision, according to Justice Dhulia, does not adequately explain why the hijab should be prohibited in public educational institutions.
ll the petitioners want is to wear a hijab! Is it too much to ask in a democracy? How is it against public order, morality or health? or even decency or against any other provision of Part III of the Constitution. These questions have not been sufficiently answered in the Karnataka High Court judgement,
Justice Dhulia stated.
He added that there is no logic in the argument that wearing hijab in classroom will lead to law and order problem.
t does not appeal to my logic or reason as to how a girl child who is wearing a hijab in a classroom is a public order problem or even a law-and order problem. To the contrary reasonable accommodation in this case would be a sign of a mature society which has learnt to live and adjust with its differences
The court held
The judge consequently urged schools and institutions to instil concepts of tolerance and accommodation in line with the principles of the Constitution.
Our schools, in particular our Pre-University colleges are the perfect institutions where our children, who are now at an impressionable age, and are just waking up to the rich diversity of this nation, need to be counselled and guided, so that they imbibe our constitutional values of tolerance and accommodation, towards those who may speak a different language, eat different food, or even wear different clothes or apparels! This is the time to foster in them sensitivity, empathy and understanding towards different religions, languages and cultures,
The court held
In support of this, he also highlighted the National Education Policy 2020 of the Government of India, which emphasises the importance of fostering tolerance and understanding among students as well as educating them about the rich diversity of our nation.
He also pertinently discussed how a hijab ban may affect a girl’s ability to receive an education.
n villages and semi urban areas in India, it is commonplace for a girl child to help her mother in her daily chores of cleaning and washing, before she can grab her school bag. The hurdles and hardships a girl child undergoes in gaining education are many times more than a male child. This case therefore has also to be seen in the perspective of the challenges already faced by a girl child in reaching her school. The question this Court would therefore put before itself is also whether we are making the life of a girl child any better by denying her education, merely because she wears a hijab,
The court held
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