Bengaluru: Expressing solidarity with Muslim girls over the hijab issue, teachers from various parts of India asserted that it is a question of women’s autonomy and their agency. They also claimed that the hijab does not compromise with the integrity of education in any way.
Teachers from premier institutions including Jamia Millia Islamia, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Ashoka University and NLSIU, among others signed a solidarity statement which stated “As teachers working in different schools, colleges and universities in different parts of India, and as Indian teachers working abroad, we stand in solidarity with Muslim students’ right to wear a hijab in the classroom if they wish to. It is a question of women’s autonomy and their agency, and the hijab does not compromise with the integrity of education in any way.” Times of India reported.
The statement further read, “Our students come from different religions, castes, genders and speak different mother tongues… In the course of their education, students learn to reflect critically on the world around them and begin to interrogate beliefs and practices they grew up with. In the process, students sometimes reaffirm their beliefs, and sometimes discard them.”
