Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi hit out at the ruckus in Karnataka over Muslim women wearing hijabs to educational institutions, claiming that it was a woman's right to wear what she wanted. "Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear. This right is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. Stop harassing women," Priyanka tweeted.
Whether it is a bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab, it is a woman’s right to decide what she wants to wear.
— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) February 9, 2022
This right is GUARANTEED by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women. #ladkihoonladsaktihoon
The hijab-row triggered protests in Karnataka, with campuses witnessing 'conflict-like' situations marked by stone-pelting incidents, use of force by police and the Muslim girls standing their ground for wearing the headscarves, prompting calls for peace and calm both by the government and the High Court, which is now looking into the students' plea for their right to their hijab.
As the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the government declared three days holidays for educational institutions across the state, even as voices across the country came in for and against the hijab issue.
Protests erupted at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial College in Udupi after a large group of students wearing saffron stoles and headgears raised slogans in the college campus as hijab-clad Muslim girls were staging a protest demanding justice.
In Mandya, visuals of a group of boys heckling a hijab-clad girl went viral, even as support came pouring in for her on social media.
The student, who asserted the protest demanding the girls' right to wear hijab would continue, said she had the support of her teachers and that those after her, apparently boys with saffron shawls, were "outsiders."
"Everyone in the class...our principal and lecturers have supported us," she told NDTV.
Her friends were of the opinion that those who had heckled here were outsiders, she added.
Tension prevailed at some educational institutions in Udupi, Shivamogga and Bagalkote, forcing the police and authorities to intervene. Stone petting incident was reported near a college in Bagalkote's Rabkavi Banhatti and a few students even tried to barge into the campus, whom police dispersed using a mild force. Couple of students and a teacher are said to be injured in the incident.
-Inputs from PTI
