3 petitioners in hijab case skip examination

BENGALURU: Three Muslim girls in Karnataka’s Udupi district did not appear for their mathematics test on Saturday, a day after two girls were turned away from the examination hall as they declined to remove their headscarves. All five students are petitioners in the hijab case.

Almas AH, Hazra Shifa and Ayesha Pallavkar were to write the mathematics paper at Vidyodaya PU College, the examination centre for students of Government PU College in Udupi. The two students who were not allowed to take the test on Friday were from the commerce stream, while the three were science students whose exams began on Saturday.

The southern state is holding higher secondary board exams, which these five girls are taking.

Karnataka has been roiled in recent months over the contentious issue of not allowing Muslim girls to wear hijab in classrooms as the headscarves are not part of the uniform. On a plea against the stricture, the Karnataka high court on March 15 ruled that hijab is not an essential part of Islamic practices and the girls will have follow norms set by college authorities. The ruling has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Almas had collected the hall ticket from the college on Friday, while the other two did not, an education department official said, seeking anonymity. All three had not attended the practical exam on February 28.

Two from the commerce stream — Aliya Assadi and Rehman — left the examination centre as they refused to remove their hijab and write the business studies paper on Friday.