Rahul Gandhi on the hijab: “What you wear is your decision, your responsibility”

Rahul Gandhi, a Congress MP, said on Monday that one should not prescribe what another person must wear and that women should be respected for their choice of attire, including the hijab. A headscarf known as a hijab is worn around the head by some Muslim women.

During his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Rahul Gandhi said these things while chatting with female students at the Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh.

A girl brought up the current debate surrounding the hijab in Karnataka during their conversation, and she inquired what the former Congress president’s thoughts on the matter if he were the prime minister.

“A woman’s business is what she wants to wear. She ought to be permitted. This is what I think. It is your responsibility what you wear. Your choice of attire is up to you. Rahul Gandhi said, “I don’t think anyone else should decide what you wear.”

His remarks followed the October of last year’s approval by the Karnataka Congress administration for students to wear the hijab during competitive examinations. The authorization rekindled the discussion on the topic that caused controversy in 2022.

WHAT WAS THE HIJAB DISPUSSION?
When several Muslim students at a government pre-university college in Udupi, Karnataka, were refused admission for wearing hijabs in January 2022, alleging a breach of the institution’s uniform policy, the controversy arose. Around the state, there were several rallies and counter-protests in response to the tragedy.

at response, the then-BJP government issued an order requiring uniforms at schools with such rules in place, so outlawing the wearing of hijabs in these environments. Following a legal challenge to this judgment, the Karnataka High Court maintained the prohibition on March 15, 2022.

The Indian Constitution’s Article 25, which protects the basic right to freely exercise one’s religion, does not apply to the wearing of a hijab, according to the court’s ruling. The hijab is not considered a “essential religious practice” in Islam.

Regarding the petitions contesting the Karnataka High Court’s decision to uphold the state’s prohibition on hijabs in schools, the Supreme Court rendered a divided decision in October 2022.

While one judge favored enforcing a standard clothing code in schools, another stressed the value of education for girls, particularly in rural regions, and contended that donning a hijab is a matter of personal choice.

Due to the highest court’s divided ruling, a bigger bench will review the matter to reach a final conclusion.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in December of last year that the state’s rule prohibiting the hijab will be rescinded by his administration.