US comes in support of hijab-wearing students of Karnataka

Hyderabad: In a first US Government official remark on the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka, the United States on Friday said that the ban on wearing Hijabs in the schools in Karnataka violated religious freedom.

Religious freedom includes the ability to choose one's religious attire. The Indian state of Karnataka should not determine permissibility of religious clothing. Hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatize and marginalize women and girls.

— US Ambassador at Large for Int'l Religious Freedom (@IRF_Ambassador) February 11, 2022

Taking to twitter, Rashad Hussain, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, wrote: “Hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatize and marginalize women and girls.”

Rashad Hussain asked Karnataka government not to determine permissibility of religious clothing. He tweeted: “The Indian state of Karnataka should not determine permissibility of religious clothing.”

Indian-American Rashad Hussain was appointed as, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, by President Joe Biden’s administration last year.

He is the first US Government official to publicly make a comment on the controversy that erupted in Karnataka.