One of the students filed an FIR alleging that the Zee High School Principal asked them to follow the Muslim teachers, who remove burqas before entering school.
Published Jun 24, 2023 | 9:22 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 24, 2023 | 9:22 PM
Four faculty members of the school have been booked for forcing students to remove their hijab.
In yet another incident in Hyderabad, a 14-year-old student on Friday, 23 June, lodged a complaint against her school principal and three teachers for allegedly removing her and her friend’s hijab (head scarf) “forcefully” inside the school premises.
The Hayathnagar Police has registered a case against the four faculty members of the Zee High School.
In the FIR, which South First accessed, the Class 10 girl student stated that on 22 June, one of the teachers questioned both of her and her friend for wearing a hijab.
“Kasturi madam (the teacher) asked whether we want be discriminated against in school for wearing a hijab. She also asked if we have the permission of principal madam to wear a scarf. When we said that we don’t have her permission, she asked us to remove it,” the girl stated in the FIR.
However, when the students resisted and pointed out their right to wear a hijab, the teacher cited school rules. “She said that it is a rule not to wear a scarf in this Zee school,” the girl stated.
The girl said that on the same day, the school principal, Poornima, also called them out for wearing a hijab. “She (the principal) said that religion should be kept outside the school and should not be brought inside the school. She also said that the school is secular and everyone is equal,” the girl stated in the FIR.
She added, “We asked her if the Christian students wear a cross, would they ask them to take it off too. She said that if she sees anyone wearing a cross, she will tell them to remove it.” She said that the Principal scolded them too.
As per the FIR, the principal asked them to follow the examples of the Muslim teachers, who remove their hijab/burqa before they enter the school.
As the school faculty did not agree, the girls took the matter home to their parents.
Both the girls wore their hijab inside the school the next day as well. However, the girl, in the FIR, stated that they were summoned by the principal during the first period and were reprimanded.
“She again asked us to take off our head scarf otherwise she would not allow us to sit in the class. She scolded us and questioned why we are still wearing it even after being warned,” the girl said.
Things escalated when one of the teachers — Madhuri — took the girls along with a Class 9 student and “forced” all three of them to remove their hijabs. Another teacher, Kavitha, supported Madhuri and asked the students to remove the hijab.
“But we did not take it off,” the girl stated in the FIR.
However, the teacher did not stop there. “Madhuri madam reached out her hand towards our junior’s head scarf and tried to take it off. But I put my hand in front of her head and said that she (Madhuri) could not do this,” the girl stated.
The girl told South First that she has tweeted about the incident to Telangana’s Minister of Education Sabitha Indra Reddy and IT and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao in the hope of getting their support on the matter.
“The parents did not like the teachers’ attitude and objected to it. According to them, teachers have no authority to question religious beliefs,” SHO Hayathnagar H Venkateswarlu told South First.
“When the Constitution gives the right to dress however one wants, how can the school act like that? If the school had an issue, they could have called the parents and not bothered these children who are minors,” the mother of the girl told South First.
She added, “The state government should come up with some rules on this as it is an illegal act.”
The Hayathnagar police has registered a case under Sections 295-A (intent to insult the religion), 298 (hurting religious feeling), and 352 (use of criminal force) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act (cruelty to a child).
South First reached out to the school administration but we have not received a response so far. The story will be updated as soon as we receive a response.
In another incident on 16 June, women students at the KV Ranga Reddy Degree College for Women in Santosh Nagar alleged that the college authorities asked them to remove their hijabs/burqas before entering the exam hall.
Reacting to the incident the next day, Telangana Home, Prisons and Fire Services Minister Mahmood Ali had drawn flak after he remarked about what women should wear.
Noting that while it’s everyone’s choice to wear whatever they want, Telangana Home Minister Mahmood Ali remarked that they shouldn’t dress like Europeans. “The situation will turn bad,” he added.
The minister advised women to dress according to society. “Wear what everyone wears, such as Hindu women covering their head with a pallu (headscarf).”
The BRS leader went on to say that dressing in such a manner would gain respect from an individual. “Women wearing fewer clothes invite trouble. People feel relaxed if women wear more clothes,” he added.
