The Hijab and the right to freedom controversy

The Hijab and the right to freedom of speech and religion

Hijab is an Islamic concept that symbolises modesty and solitude for women. Not just Islam, but this culture is being practised by other religions such as the Judaism and Christianity. Hijab is a women’s clothing concept that is widely used. Simple head scarves, known as Hijab, to full-body cloaks, known as burqas, are all part of the Islamic clothing concept.

However, the public expression of wearing a hijab have taken a controversial turn in many countries including India. Wearing a hijab is formerly an act or concept of worship among Muslim women. Some of the countries such as Belgium and Egypt banned the culture of wearing hijabs.

In the United States the act of wearing a hijab has been guaranteed by the first amendment- as freedom of speech as well as religion. The constitution of India also guarantees the right to freedom of speech and religion to the citizens under which wearing a hijab can be claimed as a fundamental right.

Recently, an incident took place in Karnataka where six girls in hijab were restricted from entering in college. The college authorities said that wearing a hijab is contravention of college uniform.The education minister of Karnataka said that wearing hijab was a kind of breaking rules of the college.

Later the officials of college said “If the girls want to continue their studies, they had to take off the hijab”. On the other side, this comment infuriated the students and they believed that such behaviour was an affront to their religious convictions. They begin demonstrating for their religion and rights, and those who learned of the occurrence rallied to their side, calling the act “discrimination based on faith”

 The incident and the outrage of the supporter made chief minister BasavrajBommai to announce a holiday in the schools and colleges. Many famous personalities shared their views in social media through writing in the favour of wearing hijabs and called it as a “right of women”.

Shashi Tharoor who is known to be Congress MP tweeted “It’s been a strength of India that everyone is free to wear what they want. If the hijab is disallowed, what about the Sikh turban? The Hindu’s forehead mark? The Christian’s crucifix?  This college is going down a slippery slope. Let the girls in. Let them study. Let them decide.”

Congress leader Siddaramaiah said wearing hijab is a fundamental right of the protesting students. He also further added that by preventing them from attending classes, their right to education is being violated. Siddaramaiah said “Muslim girls have been wearing headscarf since the beginning. It is their fundamental right. Were they wearing a saffron shawl earlier, whenever they come to colleges and schools?

This is politically motivated. That’s why the government should take a stand. Education is a fundamental right. If you prevent them from coming a school, what does it indicate? Is it not a violation of a fundamental right? The girls are from the Muslim community, they should not be deprived of getting education.”

This huge debate in the country has raised the topic of whether or not wearing a hijab is a fundamental right. The article 25(1) of the Constitution claims the “freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion”. This right to religion clearly claims the freedom of wearing a hijab and no obstacle them from exercising this freedom.

Despite of the fact, government can still curb restrictions over the right on the ground of public order, decency, morality, health and other state interests. The fundamental concern now is whether imposing a restriction on someone’s culture is a morally sound decision.

With over 209 million disciples in 2021, Islamic culture stands as India’s second largest religion. That means the nation’s 14.6 percent of overall population is contributed by the Muslims. The Islamic women believes that hijab is an essential culture of their religion. That is not a just a head-scarf but a sign of modesty and respect for them.

Despite the fact that Muslims make up the majority of India’s population, many Muslim women think that hijab has been misconstrued as something demeaning and retrograde for over a decade. They strongly believe that imposing any kind of restrictions in wearing a hijab can affect their freedom as well as it can have a direct impact on their mental health. A hijab or any other religious dress worn by any faith or society does not contradict the list of constitutional rights, according to a number of basic rights included in the constitution.

Over the years, the supreme court has ruled that the constitution will exclusively protect “essential religious practice. According to the constitution, courts must determine if a practise is necessary for the faith after examining religious scriptures and interviewing experts and religious leaders before awarding any form of protection. When students at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences banned hijab-wearing hopefuls from taking the entrance examinations in 2016, the Kerela High Court decided that aspirants might sit the test while wearing the hijab since it was a fundamental practise of their religious beliefs.

Hijab is seen as a vital component of Islam, as it is in many other religions. Hijab is said to as one of the Muslim identifications, which is empowering. Nothing can restrict individuals from wearing the hijab as long as they are pleased and eager to do so, as this would be against the constitution itself.

Author: aditi raj

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