Nobel laureate and women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai took to Twitter, to share her horror over the ongoing hijab controversy in Karnataka. Government colleges in Karnataka are barring Muslim girls wearing hijab from entering the campus premises.
Terming the hijab row as horrifying, Malala tweeted that objectification of women continued in one way or the other. She also urged Indian leaders to stop the marginalization of Muslim women.
Read more: Muslim women in India up for auction
“Refusing to let girls go to school in their hijabs is horrifying. Objectification of women persists — for wearing less or more,” Malala tweeted.
Important to note, Malala was 15 when she survived an attack by the Taliban in Pakistan for speaking up for the right of girls to be educated.
“Indian leaders must stop the marginalisation of Muslim women,” she further added.
However, her statement did not sit well with many Indian users who flocked to her comment section to call her out. Indian Twitteratis called Malala a “hypocrite.”
Read more: Malala asks US to save girls’ education in Afghanistan
One Twitterati shared an old statement of Malala from 2013 where she reportedly said that Muslim women should not wear veils to court. However, to clarify, what Malala meant back then was that she is of the view that a woman should not cover her face in court or in other places “where it’s necessary to show your identity”.
Profile says "Women's Equality" – From which dimension Hijab is equality?
2013 : Women sudnt wear veil in Court
2022 : Bats for Veil in School
Indian schools follow uniform & none of black tents come under that
Iran & AF women r being killed for not bein veiled: Any comments? pic.twitter.com/oTIzn6TDDc
— Soum_Speaks (@soum_speaks) February 8, 2022
India’s hijab row
The hijab row began after a government-run pre-university college banned teenage girls from wearing hijab. As a result, the teenage girls began their protest.
The issue spread over to other colleges in Karnataka state. Last week, a video surfaced showing college officials shutting gates on a group of Muslim female students wearing hijab.
Muslim students asserted that they will not shun hijab no matter what. They also moved to the High Court seeking directions to the government to allow them to wear hijab to classrooms. As a result, Hindu students retaliated by wearing saffron shawls to schools and protesting against the hijab.
Read more: Watch: Indian college bans entry of female students wearing hijab
On Tuesday, Indian media reported clashes between the two sides that left a number of people injured. The state’s chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, closed schools for three days, appealing for “all the students, teachers and management of schools and colleges as well as people of Karnataka to maintain peace and harmony”.