'Let our daughters wear hijab, you wear your bikini…': AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on hijab row

Karnataka hijab ban: Reacting to the split verdict given by the Supreme Court on petitions challenging the Karnataka hijab ban, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has sought to know whether hijab shows the 'backwardness' of Muslims and whether Muslim women are not contributing to the development of the country.

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: Reacting to the split verdict given by the Supreme Court on petitions challenging the Karnataka hijab ban, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has slammed the Centre for ''forcing the Muslim girls to remove their hijab.'' Reacting to the split verdict given by the top court on the hijab ban, Owaisi said, “if Muslim women want to cover their heads, it does not mean, they are covering their intellect."

He further alleged, “They say that Muslims are forcing little children to wear hijab. Are we really forcing our girls?" The AIMIM leader went on to say, “Let our daughters wear hijab, you wear your bikini if you like…”

During his interaction with a gathering at the Golconda Fort, the AIMIM leader also sought to question whether hijab shows the 'backwardness' of Muslims and whether Muslim women are not contributing to the development of the country. 

"If you come to Hyderabad, you will see the most notorious drivers are our sisters. Don't even put your vehicle behind them. No, this is from my personal experience. I tell my driver to be careful. Sit behind them on the motorcycle wearing a helmet and then you will understand whether they are being forced," Owaisi said in his speech.

जिस भारत की आज़ादी के लिए हमारे बुजुर्गों ने अपने जानों की कुर्बानी दी थी आज उसी भारत में हमारे बेटियों से कहा जा रहा है कि हिजाब क्यों पहनते हो?https://t.co/T7b6o5PvkQ — Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) October 14, 2022

Referring to the Karnataka hijab ban row, Owaisi said, "When a Hindu, a Sikh and a Christian student is allowed to enter the classroom with their religious clothing and a Muslim is stopped, what do they think of the Muslim student? Obviously, they will think Muslims are below us."

Amid the raging hijab row, Owaisi said that "One day, a girl wearing a hijab will be the Prime Minister of India. It is my dream".

His remarks came after the Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a split verdict in the Karnataka hijab ban case. While one of the top court judges dismissed the petitions challenging the old Karnataka High Court order upholding the hijab ban in educational institutions, the another - Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia - allowed them. "There is a divergence of opinion," said Justice Hemant Gupta, who then asked 11 questions to the petitioners before dismissing their plea. He said he agrees with the Karnataka High Court's order.

"It's ultimately a matter of choice and nothing else. Uppermost in my mind was the education of the girl child. I respectfully disagree with my brother judge," Justice Dhulia said. Supreme Court Justice Hemant Gupta, while dismissing the petitions against the hijab ban, also referred the matter to the Chief Justice Of India for appropriate direction "It’s a matter of choice, nothing more, nothing less," Justice Dhulia said while pronouncing the order. 

The top court passed the order in response to various petitions challenging the Karnataka High Court order which upholds the ban on Hijab in educational institutes. Various petitioners have approached the apex court challenging the Karnataka HC order upholding the Karnataka government`s order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges` uniform rules.

A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi had earlier held that the prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions saying they are without merit.

The Hijab row erupted in January this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering. Following this, the girls sat in protest outside the college over being denied entry.

After this, boys from several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in Karnataka. As a result, the Karnataka government said that all students must adhere to the uniform and banned both hijab and saffron scarves till an expert committee decided on the issue.

On February 5, the pre-University education board released a circular stating that the students could only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious attire would be allowed in colleges.