India: Mumbai college denies entry to students wearing burqas, sparks protests

Tensions flared in the western Indian state of Maharashtra after a college barred girls, wearing burqas, from entry into the campus premises in the capital city of Mumbai. The incident transpired at the NG Acharya & DK Marathe College after which parents of the girl students staged a demonstration in front of the institute.

Muslim students complained that they feel uncomfortable leaving the house without wearing a burqa, as prescribed by their religion. They requested the college authorities to at least, grant them permission to wear scarves for their comfort.

The situation only calmed down after the police officials arrived on the spot and took both parents and the college authorities into confidence.

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Commenting on the incident, college Principal Vidya Gauri Lele said the institute recently implemented a new dress code for the year and that rules were communicated to the parents well in advance.

“On May 1, we held a meeting with parents to discuss this new dress code policy. We had communicated everything including the ban on burqa, hijab, scarves, and stickers. At the time, everyone had agreed to the dress code. But they are protesting now,” said Lele.

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Middle ground reached

After the incident, the college issued a statement, sayingthat girl students can wear a burqa, hijab, or scarf while entering the college, considering their safety and dignity. However, they will have to remove the piece of clothing in the washroom before entering the classroom and wear it again when leaving the college in the evening.

Burqas and niqabs are often confused. While niqabs cover the face, but leave the eyes uncovered,burqas cover the entire body, from the top of the head to the ground, with only a small screen allowing the wearer to see in front.

In June, a similar controversy erupted in the northern Indian union territory of Jammu & Kashmir where several female students protested outside Vishwa Bharti Womens College for not being allowed to wear burqa.

'Why should we take off the abaya? I don't love this school more than my God that I will take off this abaya. I will never take my abaya off, there are so many boys in the college and there is so much immorality going on which is invisible to their eyes and asking us to take off the abaya," one of the students said at the time.

Last year, the southern state of Karnataka saw a hijab ban transform into a national controversy that went all the way to the Supreme Court.

(With inputs from agencies)

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