On 22/9/2022 Supreme Court concluded hearings in Karnataka hijab case and reserved its judgment. Some Muslim female students wanted to wear hijab in class rooms. That led to some Hindu male students wearing saffron shawls. There were agitations. Karnataka government then put restrictions on wearing hijab and saffron shawls in class rooms. The matter went to Karnataka High Court which in its verdict dt. 15/3/2022 upheld the restrictions. This was challenged in Supreme Court.
For years most Muslim female students attended colleges without hijab. Suddenly hijab became an issue. Campus Front of India is said to be behind this.
Same day across India there were raids on Popular Front of India offices and over 100 were arrested. It is alleged that PFI supports terrorist activities and wants Taliban rule. CFI and PFI are Muslim organisations.
In Iran the situation was different. There were protests against hijab. Some days back in the city of Saqez Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, was arrested for improper wearing of hijab. She died in a hospital on 16/9/2022 after being in coma for three days. Police claimed she died of heart attack. Reports suggested that she was severely beaten by morality police. Her father accused the police of lying about the cause of her death. Protests erupted. Many women burnt their hijabs and cut their hair. Iran blocked Instagram and WhatsApp. Protests continued. People clashed with security forces.
On 20/9/2022 Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif expressed alarm at Mahsa Amini’s death. He wanted prompt, impartial and effective investigation by an independent competent authority to ensure truth and justice to her family. He said “The authorities must stop targeting, harassing, and detaining women who do not abide by the hijab rules.” He called for repeal of laws that impose mandatory hijab.
On 22/9/2022 one anchor reported that 17 people died in clashes. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi was in New York for UN General Assembly. He said acts of chaos are not acceptable and he has ordered an investigation in Mahsa Amini case.
Why Muslim women wish to wear that headgear is beyond my understanding. Probably that has become a matter of identity and identity matters much in today’s India. Anyway that piece of cloth does no harm to anyone. So why would anyone be bothered? Here comes the question of the Hindutva brigade’s intentions or motives.