MANGALURU: The High Court verdict on the hijab issue may lead to girls from conservative Muslim families dropping out of school/colleges besides further ghettoisation of the community in the communally sensitive Coastal Karnataka, some sections of society feel. The HC verdict came as a big shocker to the Muslim community in Dakshina Kannada and social media was abuzz with posts expressing severe displeasure over the verdict, with many even terming it ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘unacceptable’.
Umar U H, president of the Muslim Writers’ Association, Mangaluru, felt that the verdict will mainly hit the poor and conservative Muslims who are dependent on government colleges, while others have the option of shifting to private institutions that allow the hijab. According to him, over 75 per cent of Muslims in the region are poor, who cannot afford to send their wards to private colleges and said the court should have taken this into consideration.
Dr Chandra Poojary, retired professor of Hampi University, wondered how the court came to the conclusion that hijab is not an essential practice of Islam. He feared that the development could lead to ghettoisation of Muslims in Dakshina Kannada, but felt that Muslim girls will stand to benefit in the long run if they accept the verdict now and go back to college.