The eighth bulletin - your publication (9/02/2022) monitored these interactions, especially after educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka prevented veiled female students from entering classrooms, amid activists' condemnation of the attempts of some parties to impose policies that restrict veiled women and Muslims - in general - in India. They called on the international community and human rights organizations to stand by them to protect their rights.
The cities of the Indian state of Karnataka witnessed protest marches due to the crisis of banning the veil in state schools, while the orange color appeared on the shoulders and heads of students and activists opposed to the veil and supporters of the decision to ban it.
The protesters raised the orange flag to announce their rejection of the veil.
On the other hand, veiled women and girls organized vigils and raised banners against the ban on the veil in schools and educational institutions under the slogan "The veil is our right", a campaign that witnessed wide interaction on Indian communication platforms and became global.
Through this hashtag, activists demanded respect for the right of Muslim women to wear the veil, and denounced practices that restrict their freedom.
Activists circulated a video clip of a Muslim girl who was attacked with slogans against the veil, and she chanted "God is great", in a picture similar to a lion facing a group of hyenas, as described by tweets. The Muslim student was harassed by Hindu students in Karnataka, with the escalation of the dispute over the veil in educational institutions in the state.
A statement by a member of the Legislative Council, Patil Yantal in Karnataka state, also sparked controversy on the communication platforms, when he demanded the abolition of schools and schools that teach the Urdu language common among Indian Muslims, and demanded that Indian Muslims go to Pakistan if they want to practice their religion freely.
Pakistani activist and Nobel laureate Malala Youssef denounced what she called incitement against women, and demanded an end to the attack on Muslim women, writing, "The college forces us to choose between studying and the hijab. The refusal to allow girls to go to school with the hijab is terrifying. Women continue to be incited to wear less clothes. or more. Indian leaders must stop the marginalization of Muslim women."
Muhammad Al-Ajmi asked about the role of feminist movements in standing with veiled women in India. He said, "Where are the feminist movements?! Why don't they demand the rights of Indian women?!
While Ammar Al-Safi believes that the recent persecution of Muslims can no longer be tolerated, he tweeted, "The issue of persecution of Muslims has become very severe (became a lot) in the recent period, reaching a degree that cannot be tolerated."
Khaled Al-Khelaiwi attributed the problem to what he said was the humiliation of Muslims, so he tweeted, “If the Muslims were in the power of those who commanded them, their enemies would be intimidated by them, and their enemy would sympathize with them and fulfill all their demands, but, unfortunately, we are in weakness, so it was the humiliation.”
While Indian politician Melamine Patel accused India's educational systems of being behind the problem, he wrote, "Our beliefs define who we are, and standing firm for what we believe demonstrates courage and integrity. I stand in solidarity with the students of Karnataka. We and our education systems are behind such actions!"
Indian politician Nawab Malik called for a policy of tolerance to be perpetuated, tweeting, "India's idea is about tolerance, equality and unity. Educational institutions should be a primary center for teaching those values."
On the other hand, Hindu writer Vivek Ranjan sees the battle with the veil as cultural and deadly. "Dear Indians, this is a deadly culture war. If you don't fight this (veil) now, you will not have a culture of your own. Don't forget, in Kashmir it started with a veil." Only one. Today, there are no Hindus in the land of Shiva and Saraswati."