BENGALURU: Hindu with a liberal upbringing and a convent education, 27-year-old Kruthika was deeply affected by the news of Muslim students in Kundapur Junior College being denied entry for wearing a hijab. Kruthika, a lawyer by profession who moonlights as an illustrator, turned to art to express her disdain at the current climate. Her artwork portrays two girls wearing hijabs and holding a book that says, ‘We are only asking for our fundamental rights’. This statement has resonated with many clearly as the work has gone viral on social media.
She says the art is a part of the reel that she had created a month ago when six students from Government PU College of Girls, Udupi, insisted on wearing a hijab in class. “I had made it even before the situation escalated to what it is today,” says Kruthika, who goes by the handle @theworkplacedoodler on Instagram. She says many might argue that the hijab may not be a part of the uniform, but there are religious indicators that other students come with that are not questioned the same way.
Agrees Deeptha Babu, social activist and graphic designer who is in her final year of studies at PES University. “Getting an education is a basic human right. Stopping someone because of their religious beliefs is just shameful and unnecessary. I literally went to a school where we had a small temple-like prayer room. Then why can’t Muslim girls wear their hijabs?,” questions Babu, whose art shows different women wearing different attires, a saree, veil, hijab etc. It has been captioned, ‘I don’t see a difference and is being widely circulated online.
Babu feels art, especially on the internet, is one of the best ways to raise awareness. “My post received 1 lakh shares, which simply means that people are willing to talk about it and make a difference, that people are willing to share their thoughts and stand up for what is right. In today’s world, where the internet is everything, having an opinion that is heard through art makes a difference. It may be small, but it is still moving forward,” says the 22-year-old.
Meanwhile, artist Shilo Shiv Suleman who shared Hyderabad artist Faiza Hasan’s artwork, Haq, on her Instagram handle, put out a post that Fearless Collective, an art movement, would be launching a campaign in solidarity of Muslim women in India. Taking to Instagram, she also shared her feelings on the issue. “A few years ago I started to write a story about a world that was no longer safe for muslim women, so they called upon the buraq and grew magnificent wings and flew into a safer more tender world. As women across the country continue to be dehumanised- I stand in solidarity with that safer (tender) world of autonomy and diversity. haq. may truth, beauty and freedom prevail. (sic).”