Hijab Row: Jwala Gutta Pleads Against Ugly Politics
Champion badminton player Jwala Gutta on Tuesday came out in support of Muslim schoolgirls in Karnataka after there were reports on social media of several schoolgirls being asked to take off their headscarf to access entry to the school.
Taking her angst on micro-blogging website Twitter, the badminton ace said, “Stop humiliating small girls at the gates of the school where they come to empower themselves…school is supposed to be their safe haven!!”
She added that head scarf or no head scarf, they needed to be spared “from this ugly politics….stop scarring there small minds… Just stop this!!”
The tweet generated largescale response with more than 3,000 replies, mostly supporting her views but also an equal number of trolls who posted some Islamophobic comments and pictures.
The controversy over hijab ban is already reached the state High Court with a larger bench hearing the petition on the matter.
The hijab row started a couple of months back in Udupi where a school principal, seeking uniform attire, denied entry to a few schoolgirls wearing a hijab. Several Muslim organisations took up the matter on behalf of the girls and their right to education.
Hindutava groups came out in support of the decision to ban and now the issue has become a national issue, with protests in favour of and against the proposed ban taking place in several states.
