Karnataka Higher Education minister MC Sudhakar on Saturday, October 21 said that Karnataka Examination Authority will now allow candidates to wear hijab during recruitment examinations for government services. This decision comes just ahead of the recruitment examinations slated for October 28 and 29 for various government services.
According to Times of India, MC Sudhakar said that denying individuals the right to wear the hijab would be a violation of their rights.
This move marks a notable reversal from the stance of the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka. In February 2022, the government had imposed a ban on wearing hijab in classrooms, citing concerns over its impact on "equality, integrity, and public order". This decision was prompted by an incident in December 2021, when six girls were prevented from attending classes for wearing the headscarf in a college in Udupi. Subsequently, protests spread to other parts of the state.
Challenging the ban, the girls took their case to the Karnataka High Court, which upheld the prohibition. The court's judgment contended that wearing a hijab was not an essential practice of Islam. This ruling was subsequently appealed before the Supreme Court, which delivered a split verdict in October 2022. A two-judge bench decided that the matter would be referred to the Chief Justice for further directions. As of now, the Supreme Court is yet to constitute a bench to hear the case. Following the victory of the Congress party in the state's Assembly elections in May, Kaneez Fatima, the party's lone Muslim woman MLA, had said that the ban would be rescinded.