[Reader-list] Fwd: In Valley, gunmen take to moral policing: ‘enforce hijab in college’

[Rohan DSouza]

Dear Murali,
Moral policing in the name of exclusive and regressive notions of culture
seem to be one thing that binds fundamentalist groups of different religious
persuasions across the country. Check out this article in Tehelka (
http://tehelka.com/story_main42.asp?filename=Ne290809i_asked.asp)
which talks about a burkha ban being enforced by the Sangh Parivar in
Mangalore. There have been a few newspaper articles and this article which
talks about this issue.

Attempts to control practices, lifestyles and the very lives of people
through such means seem to manifest themselves in such controlling
behaviour, be it a burkha enforcement in Kashmir or a burkha ban in
Mangalore. Both sides of the same coin?

Regards,
Rohan

The full article:

*‘I Asked Them To Give Me A Saffron Shawl’*

*The ABVP and Bajrang Dal are aggressively enforcing a burka ban in colleges
in Karnataka’s Dakshin Kannada district, reports**SANJANA*
[image: image]*Scarf knot* The ban is forcing students in burkas to worry
about their safety
*Photos:* S RADHAKRISHNA

IN JUNE this year, President Nicolas Sarkozy denounced the burka, the
traditional women’s garment that Muslim women adopt to cover themselves from
head to toe, calling it “a sign of subservience” which “would not be welcome
in the French Republic.” Unmindful of protests from Muslims worldwide, the
French National Assembly instituted a commission of inquiry the very next
day to decide if women should be allowed to wear the burka publicly in
France.

More than 8,000 kilometres away, across continents and countries, Muslim
women in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district have already been handed such
a diktat. Women wearing burkas — or even headscarves for that matter —will
not be allowed into college classrooms and campuses in the region, state the
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a students’ organisation and the
youth wing of the Bajrang Dal. Both the ABVP and the Bajrang Dal are
affiliated with the BJP, which is in power in the state. Though there is no
legal backing for the ban, the decree has been enforced by government and
government- aided colleges in the region. Since March 2009, the ban has
applied universally to students and lecturers and has been aggressively
enforced across colleges. Those daring to disobey have been suspended, asked
to leave college and threatened with physical violence.

Says Aysha Ashmin, an 18-year-old student from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada
district, “Initially, Muslim women were asked to remove their burkas before
entering class rooms. A month later, this was extended slightly – no burkas
in college campuses they said. So women hurriedly changed out of these
either at the gate or in the ladies room as soon as we entered colleges.
Now, they are asking us to remove our head scarves before entering
classrooms.” This is a stricture that Aysha experienced first hand. Within
days of enrolling in the BCom course at the Sri Venkataramana Swamy Degree
College in Bantwal, Aysha stopped wearing her burka in classrooms. Her
classmates insisted she do so, saying it would only single her out for
attention since Muslim students wearing the burka were rare on campus. It
didn’t take much persuasion, as she wanted to fit in and make friends in her
new college. In any case, she told herself, she had her headscarf on. A few
weeks later, the newly elected president of the college student’s union
began targeting Aysha for wearing the headscarf. “The president and some
other union members would follow me everywhere and ridicule me for wearing a
headscarf. They claimed my headscarf was unnecessarily escalating tensions
within the college, that if I insisted on wearing it, they would be forced
to wear saffron shawls. When the jibes turned into physical attacks, I asked
them to hand me the saffron shawl – I would wear that and my scarf,” said
Aysha.
Students who refused to wear the headscarves were asked to leave the class

Days later, Aysha was summoned by the principal and asked to stop wearing
the headscarf. With Aysha was Azramma, the only other Muslim student who
wore one on campus. When both students refused to remove their scarves
citing religious beliefs and personal discomfort within the slightly hostile
coeducational environment, they were asked to return the next day with their
parents. In the meeting on August 7, the girls and their parents were
bluntly told that if they refused to comply with the ban, they would be
suspended and subsequently removed from college. While Azramma acquiesced,
Aysha did not relent. Her father, Mahmood P was shocked at the rude
behaviour of the lecturers who asked his daughter to either chose religion
or education, arguing that here was no space for both on campus. “My
daughter was told that nobody would look at her even if she removed her
scarf since there were far more beautiful girls on campus! And this was the
least vulgar thing they said. Along with the principal, there were senior
lecturers and heads of departments present at the meeting. Even though I
asked them to give me the reason for suspension in writing, they turned us
away,” says an exasperated Mahmood. Aysha’s suspension has meant a loss of
the Rs 7,000 her family has paid as annual fees. Besides, if her appeals to
Mangalore University’s Vice- Chancellor fail, she is likely to lose an
academic year. “Admissions have closed everywhere but I will continue to
fight. Education is my right, just as practising my faith is,” says a
determined Aysha.
‘THE PRESIDENT AND UNION MEMBERS WOULD FOLLOW ME AND RIDICULE ME FOR WEARING
A HEADSCARF’
*AYSHA ASHMIN, **Student*

There are several others who do not share Aysha’s ample courage. A lecturer
at the same college, Mumtaz, chose to leave after having worked for 15 days.
Afraid even to reveal her last name, Mumtaz was accosted by a fellow
lecturer for wearing the headscarf. “He asked me, ‘If we insist on following
our religious practices within educational institutions, what would happen
if Digambar Jains decided to do the same and turn up naked?’ We were
apparently guilty of violating the social order,” says Mumtaz. A resignation
letter she wrote spelling out these reasons was refused by the college
management.

When TEHELKA contacted Seetaram Mayya, the college principal, all he would
admit to was pressure from various Hindutva organisations to enforce the ban
against headscarves. Though there were no names of organizations or people
forthcoming, Mayya admitted to the presence of members from these
organisations within the college as well.
[image: image]

THE SITUATION in the Bantwal College resonates right across the district. On
August 17, in Uppinangady, 55 kilometres from Mangalore, all 82 Muslim women
enrolled into the Government Degree College there were upbraided for wearing
headscarves. Days after Sujith KS, an ABVP member won the college student
union elections, the Muslim women were summoned by Principal Vasanta Kumari
and asked to stop wearing headscarves within classrooms. Ten students who
steadfastly refused to do so were asked to leave the classrooms immediately.
Two final year students — both boys — who intervened and defended the
women’s religious rights to wear headscarves were suspended by the college
principal. In the evening, when parents accompanied by a lawyer went to the
principal’s house to discuss the matter, they were turned away. Mohammed
Rafique, a local resident and activist with the People’s Front of India (a
Muslim organization active in the area) told TEHELKA, “The principal turned
us away, saying there was nothing she could do. We tried to tell her that
Muslim women had attended the college wearing burkas for 25 years. It was of
no use.”
Mumtaz was accosted by a fellow lecturer for wearing the headscarf. She left
after 15 days

The following day, the situation in the college grew worse. Following an
expression of fear by the college principal, police *bandobast* was
arranged. The ten students continued to be locked out of their classes and
the rest were made to remove their headscarves. Despite repeated attempts by
TEHELKA, the college management refused to discuss the legality of their
headscarf ban. A college official who refused to identify himself boasted,
“It is an internal matter. We will handle it ourselves. We don’t have to
explain anything to anybody.”

INTERESTINGLY, THE ban on Muslim students wearing burkas and head scarves
has spread to Christian missionary colleges as well. Students of St. Agnes
College, St. Anne’s College and St. Aloysius College in Mangalore speak
quietly of the authorities asking them to stop wearing burkas and
headscarves. Confirming this as official policy, Dr. (Sr.) Prem D’Souza told
TEHELKA that while they respect all religions and faiths, they couldn’t
accept headscarves as an expression of faith or as a religious choice for
Muslim women. “We don’t allow this since there is no uniformity – some women
wear the headscarf while others don’t. Ultimately, we want to ensure that
they do not face any discrimination. Wearing the scarf will single them
out,” explained Dr. D’Souza. When queried why nuns could continue to wear
habits and wimples and not fall foul of the headscarf ban, she said merely
that they belonged to a different category.
‘WHY SHOULD MUSLIMS BE ALLOWED TO EXPRESS THEIR IDENTITY?’
*SHAILESH SHETTY,*
*ABVP representative*

Since March 2009, there have been six incidents of colleges in Dakshin
Kannada district banning headscarves and burkas – a number dismissed as
insignificant by several people including ABVP student representative
Shailesh Shetty. Shetty, the outgoing president of the student union at
University College, Mangalore, claimed that in the next month every single
college in the district would follow the same rule. “This is a programme
that we have taken seriously. Any union that has AVBP representation will
make sure that it will be an issue for the college authorities to address.
Why should Muslims be allowed to express their identity? They should
remember which country they are living in,” said Shetty, deadpan. If
Shetty’s claims are anywhere close to the truth, the road ahead promises to
be hard for Muslim women in the district’s colleges. The alternative — one
that comes with the promise of further marginalisation — is to shift to
colleges that are either run by Muslim educational trusts or ones that
specialise in Islamic studies. Both spell disaster, says Hasnath Mansur, the
former member of the Karnataka State Minorities Commission and principal of
Abbas Khan college for women. “Why should women sacrifice education for what
is a minor point? As long as they keep their heads covered — even with*
dupattas* — they will comply with religious and cultural customs.”

Eclipsed in the ongoing theatre of coercion is the debate raised in France’s
parliament houses and in seminars organised by women’s rights organisations
everywhere. Is a burka or a head scarf a symbol of oppression for Muslim
women? Does freedom of choice really exist? Mansur minces no words: “The
current move by the Hindutva forces clearly takes us outside the ambit of
that discussion. This perverse move is aimed at denying women education and
stigmatising an entire community. Why is the government not withdrawing aid
and recognition from institutions that are fostering hatred and
divisiveness?”


Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:15:24 +0530
> From: Murali V <murali.chalam at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Reader-list] Fwd: In Valley, gunmen take to moral
>        policing: ‘enforce hijab in college’
> To: anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
> Cc: sarai list <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Message-ID:
>        <4eab87870908280145u4b2e8eb2j8f455a457a949792 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>
> You can atleast refer to any online references to such dress codes
> imposings.
>
> Regards,
> V Murali
>
>