Girls In Burqa Denied Entry To UP College, Authorities Cite 'Dress Code'

Some students of the Hindu college in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad were denied entry to the college for wearing a burqa despite the prescribed uniform code for the students here.

The girls have alleged that their college was not letting them enter the college campus wearing burqa and that they are being compelled to remove it at the gate.

On the said matter, a scuffle broke out between the students, the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha workers, and the college professors who remained adamant about sticking to the prescribed rules. A video of the scene from the Hindu college has been making rounds on the Internet.

Meanwhile, the college professor, Dr AP Singh, said that they have implemented a dress code for the students here and anybody who refuses to follow it will be barred from entering the college campus.

To this, the members of Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha submitted a memorandum to include the burqa in the dress code for college and allow the girls to attend their classes wearing it.

In January 2022, a similar situation arose in Karnataka. Massive protests broke out when some students of Government Girls PU college in Udupi district alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students claimed they were denied entry into the college for wearing hijab.

Following this incident, students of different colleges arrived at Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles. The situation was the same in several colleges in the Udupi district.

The pre-University education board had released a circular stating that students can wear only the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges.

The matter was then taken up to the Karnataka High Court, which dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on hHijab in education institutions and said that wearing a hijab is not an essential religious practice of Islam.

The Supreme Court on October 13 pronounced a split verdict in the case.