Karnataka Advocate General: Hijab restriction limited to classrooms

New Delhi, September 21

The Karnataka Government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it has not touched any “religious aspect” in the hijab ban row and that the restriction on wearing the Islamic headscarf was limited to classrooms only even as it said wearing headscarf is not an essential religious practice in Islam.

“We do not place restrictions on wearing hijab outside the school… There is no restriction even on the school campus. The nature of restriction is only inside the classroom,” Karnataka’s Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi told a Bench led by Justice Hemant Gupta which will resume the hearing on Thursday.

“There is no ban on hijab beyond the classroom even on campuses. The state has only said educational institutions can prescribe uniform for students, something which is ‘religion neutral’. Countries such as France have prohibited hijab and the women there have not become any less Islamic,” Navadgi told the Bench.