All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi disagreed with the Karnataka High Court which ruled that Hijab was not an essential practice of Islam and pointed out that banning the headscarf prevents Muslim women from accessing education.
Mr. Owaisi took to Twitter, and said, “I disagree with Karnataka High Court’s judgment on #hijab. It’s my right to disagree with the judgement & I hope that petitioners appeal before SC.”
The Hyderabad parliamentarian stated that the judgment has “suspended fundamental rights to freedom of religion, culture, freedom of speech and expression.” He hoped that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other organisations would appeal against the order.
“Banning headscarf definitely harms devout Muslim women and their families as it prevents them from accessing education,” he tweeted, and added, “ The excuse being used is that uniform will ensure uniformity. How? Will kids not know who’s from a rich/poor family? Do caste names not denote background?”
Mr. Owaisi said that if it is a person’s belief and faith that covering one’s head is an essential religious practice, then one has a right to express it. “For a devout Muslim, Hijab is also an act of worship,” he said.
Touching upon the essential religious practice test, Mr. Owaisi said that the time has come for it to be reviewed. “For a devout person, everything is essential & for an atheist nothing is essential. For a devout Hindu Brahmin, janeu is essential but for a non-Brahmin it may not be. It is absurd that judges can decide essentiality,” he tweeted.
