Maria Kirmani, Grade 12
MUWCI
Who is the most disrespected and the most unprotected person in America? These were the first questions raised by Malcolm X when he delivered a speech about the oppression of Black Women in the US in 1962. Today, 60 years later, if we pose the same questions within the Indian context where do we find ourselves?
Who is the most disrespected person in India? Who is the most unprotected person in India? Considering the state of the nation there can be many answers to that question, but what is certain is that the Indian Muslim Woman surely makes the list. Recently, A dispute about school uniforms was documented at the start of January 2022 in the Indian state of Karnataka when some Muslim students of a junior college who wished to wear the hijab to lessons were refused admittance on the grounds that it was against the college's uniform policy. Following a court decision upholding a ban on the hijab in the Karnataka state in southern India, which alarmed students who had challenged the prohibition, Hindu supremacist groups are calling for restrictions on Muslim girls wearing the hijab in schools in other Indian states as well.
If one was to view this ruling within the context of history, then that context would be that within the past few years under the rule of the right-wing Narendra Modi-led party of the BJP, India has seen an ongoing theme of marginalization, intimidation, and persecution of Muslims. Examples of it would take us back to the Gujarat riots, to the rise and spread of the RSS, to the renaming of cities, from “Mustafabad” to “Rampur'' and “Allahabad” to “Prayagraj”. It is a retelling of history that is aimed at the erasure of heritage, culture, history, identity, and ultimately disfranchisement of India's Muslim citizens.
There's been constant and clear historical proof of divisive politics and marginalization, it’s the age-old political trick of having a common enemy to unify against, which in this case happens to be Muslim girls demanding their right to be able to seek an education in the largest democracy of the world.
Even though Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees religious freedom, there has been an increase in religiously motivated hate crimes, particularly those committed against Muslims. According to the justification provided by the court for maintaining the ban, Hijab is not a “necessary” religious practice according to Islam, hence it is not protected by Article 25 of the constitution outlining the fundamental right to exercise one's religion. The hijab means a variety of things to different types of people. Saying it is oppressive is the simplest way to denounce it, however all across the world, it serves as a symbol of resistance. Because people embrace the hijab for a variety of reasons, to define what is “religiously” necessary in absolute terms within the capacity of a court is implausible. This conclusion of the court reduces complex and delicate decisions to simple binary choices.
Considering that the World Press Freedom Index has placed India at the 150th position, this ruling was a nail in the coffin of the “free” and “democratic” country that India claims to be.
It can be said that the majority state's hallucination of the "savior syndrome" is dispelled by the Indian Muslim woman, who defies the stereotype, who makes effort to assert her identity and attain economic independence while retaining the constitutionally protected civil liberties. And if there is hope for a change in the culture of rising Islamophobia, fascism, and extreme right wing-nationalism in India, it would require dismantling a system that thrives on hate and intolerance, and the answer would be to do the exact opposite of those things. Just like the Indian Muslim woman, to continue defying stereotypes, to not conform, to not legitimize the division, to not legitimize the hate.
-Maria Kirmani
Bibliography.
Ayyub, Rana. “2022 Karnataka hijab row.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Karnataka_hijab_row. Accessed 23 July 2022.
Frayer, Lauren. “India Is Changing Some Cities' Names, And Muslims Fear Their Heritage Is Being Erased.” NPR, 23 April 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/04/23/714108344/india-is-changing-some-cities-names-and-muslims-fear-their-heritage-is-being-era. Accessed 23 July 2022.
“Hijab Row: Case booked against Rana Ayyub by right-wing groups in Karnataka.” Siasat.com, 5 March 2022, https://www.siasat.com/hijab-row-case-booked-against-rana-ayyub-by-right-wing-groups-in-karnataka-2285726/. Accessed 23 July 2022.
Qureshi, Imran. “Udupi hijab issue: The Indian girls fighting to wear hijab in college.” BBC, 22 January 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60079770. Accessed 23 July 2022.
Who is the most disrespected person in India? Who is the most unprotected person in India? Considering the state of the nation there can be many answers to that question, but what is certain is that the Indian Muslim Woman surely makes the list. Recently, A dispute about school uniforms was documented at the start of January 2022 in the Indian state of Karnataka when some Muslim students of a junior college who wished to wear the hijab to lessons were refused admittance on the grounds that it was against the college's uniform policy. Following a court decision upholding a ban on the hijab in the Karnataka state in southern India, which alarmed students who had challenged the prohibition, Hindu supremacist groups are calling for restrictions on Muslim girls wearing the hijab in schools in other Indian states as well.
If one was to view this ruling within the context of history, then that context would be that within the past few years under the rule of the right-wing Narendra Modi-led party of the BJP, India has seen an ongoing theme of marginalization, intimidation, and persecution of Muslims. Examples of it would take us back to the Gujarat riots, to the rise and spread of the RSS, to the renaming of cities, from “Mustafabad” to “Rampur'' and “Allahabad” to “Prayagraj”. It is a retelling of history that is aimed at the erasure of heritage, culture, history, identity, and ultimately disfranchisement of India's Muslim citizens.
There's been constant and clear historical proof of divisive politics and marginalization, it’s the age-old political trick of having a common enemy to unify against, which in this case happens to be Muslim girls demanding their right to be able to seek an education in the largest democracy of the world.
Even though Article 25 of the Indian Constitution guarantees religious freedom, there has been an increase in religiously motivated hate crimes, particularly those committed against Muslims. According to the justification provided by the court for maintaining the ban, Hijab is not a “necessary” religious practice according to Islam, hence it is not protected by Article 25 of the constitution outlining the fundamental right to exercise one's religion. The hijab means a variety of things to different types of people. Saying it is oppressive is the simplest way to denounce it, however all across the world, it serves as a symbol of resistance. Because people embrace the hijab for a variety of reasons, to define what is “religiously” necessary in absolute terms within the capacity of a court is implausible. This conclusion of the court reduces complex and delicate decisions to simple binary choices.
Considering that the World Press Freedom Index has placed India at the 150th position, this ruling was a nail in the coffin of the “free” and “democratic” country that India claims to be.
It can be said that the majority state's hallucination of the "savior syndrome" is dispelled by the Indian Muslim woman, who defies the stereotype, who makes effort to assert her identity and attain economic independence while retaining the constitutionally protected civil liberties. And if there is hope for a change in the culture of rising Islamophobia, fascism, and extreme right wing-nationalism in India, it would require dismantling a system that thrives on hate and intolerance, and the answer would be to do the exact opposite of those things. Just like the Indian Muslim woman, to continue defying stereotypes, to not conform, to not legitimize the division, to not legitimize the hate.
-Maria Kirmani
Bibliography.
Ayyub, Rana. “2022 Karnataka hijab row.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Karnataka_hijab_row. Accessed 23 July 2022.
Frayer, Lauren. “India Is Changing Some Cities' Names, And Muslims Fear Their Heritage Is Being Erased.” NPR, 23 April 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/04/23/714108344/india-is-changing-some-cities-names-and-muslims-fear-their-heritage-is-being-era. Accessed 23 July 2022.
“Hijab Row: Case booked against Rana Ayyub by right-wing groups in Karnataka.” Siasat.com, 5 March 2022, https://www.siasat.com/hijab-row-case-booked-against-rana-ayyub-by-right-wing-groups-in-karnataka-2285726/. Accessed 23 July 2022.
Qureshi, Imran. “Udupi hijab issue: The Indian girls fighting to wear hijab in college.” BBC, 22 January 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-60079770. Accessed 23 July 2022.
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