The decision to be a bit more lenient on religious wear has let a lot of students back into the classroom. Muskan, one of the faces of the hijab row, sees it as a fresh start for the girls who had to put their studies on hold. Put simply, she says: get back to college, do your exams and make education your focus again.
What the new allowance changes on campus
Under the state’s order, you can have your uniform and a limited symbol to go with it. For the colleges, it is a matter of upholding the dress code while making room for a veil over the standard outfit – something, as Muskan will tell you, doesn’t really change the uniform at all.
You need that kind of clarity after a few months where the talk of dress was all anyone could think about. Muskan has been there; with exams coming up, some colleges wouldn’t even let her in, and she had to figure out another way forward.
A student voice at the centre of the debate
Muskan put a face to the protests the day she walked in and, when the jeers came, said ‘Allahu Akbar’. She puts it down to self-preservation, like calling on God when you feel you are being put upon.
She says the faculty made sure of her safety that day, with the principal and lecturers in between. It was a scene that got a lot of attention and made a private matter a public one, all in the name of a student’s dignity.
From disruption to detours
“It made you choose between your faith and your grades,” is how Muskan puts it. When a number of places turned her away, she made do with an open university and some different courses to see her through.
It was a case in point. A rule on what to wear can decide who is in the exam hall and who has to start over. In her view, this new directive closes that divide so you don’t have to give up on who you are to study.
Why it matters for girls in Karnataka
For Muskan, this is a right that was put back in the hands of the students. She has no problem with the government for this, and she is thinking of the girls who, as she puts it, were forced to walk away from their exams because of the ban. Now the way is open.
She is speaking to the ones in Udupi and around, telling them to come back to what they were doing before. You can’t let your schooling stall, or you’ll be looking at later graduations and fewer options down the road.
Her line is always the same: it comes down to choice. “Hijab is my right. Hijab is my choice.” She isn’t here to have a theological argument; it is about personal freedom. That is what lets a girl put on what she wants without running up against the institution.
What students can take away now
The uniform is still the uniform, but you can have the veil with it. Muskan is not out to challenge the dress code, just to have a little room in it. Now that the word has been given, the job is to study, not to protest.
To any student who has been on the sidelines during this, here is what she is saying:
– Get re-enrolled and see your exams through
– Have your veil and follow the rest of the rules
– Talk to your principals and lecturers if you need to
– Make learning your first concern
What institutions should prepare for next
Colleges have to make sense of the order and get back to a normal routine. There is a part for staff to play in showing students how to be in line with the attire and in defusing any hard feelings. You only have to look at the day they put themselves in front of Muskan to see how it can be done.
The same goes for the people in the admissions and exam offices. Some of these kids have had to go to open universities or put off their papers; they need a simple way back in. If you are clear and on top of things, you will see it in the numbers.
The conversation ahead
Muskan would like to see the tone of the debate change from being told what to do to being able to agree to it. It is not a religious edict for her, but a right to be a student and make a choice. It makes for less of a fight and something the system can handle.
In the end, the classroom is where you find out what your rights are. She says it is what has made her the person she is today. She has her eye on being a lawyer, but for now, she is more interested in seeing the other students put their affairs in order.
We will see if the campuses can have it both ways – keep the uniform and allow a symbol that doesn’t upend it. She is of the opinion they can. The policy is the line in the sand, the staff will hold to it, and the students can be about their business.
At the end of the day, it is about not losing ground. The girls who have to come back from the middle of it all need some help. As Muskan has it: we have our rights back, so let us let the education be the story.
