The Hijab row that is raging in Karnataka has come to Madhya Pradesh now with the state school education minister Inder Singh Parmar saying on Tuesday that Hijab was not a part of school uniform and therefore its use should be banned in schools.
Replying to questions by the media, the minister said that checks should be conducted to see whether the uniform code in the schools is being violated and suitable action is being taken. In reference to the controversy in Karnataka, the minister said that there were deliberate attempts to misrepresent the education system and vitiate atmosphere in the country.
The minister later came out with a statement saying that the MP school education department was working to implement uniform code in schools from the next academic session. He, however, avoided any reference to Hijab.
“This is being done so that there should be a feeling of equality among all students, there should be discipline and schools should get a distinct identity. From the next academic session, we will inform the school uniform code in advance so that students can get their uniforms prepared,” the minister said.
Public works department minister Bhupendra Singh also added to the point saying that a dress code (uniform) should be followed in educational institutes and Hijab should not be compulsory. He said that the dress code was in force in educational institutes and if any violation was found, recognition of the institutes would be cancelled.
Responding to the school education minister’s statement, Congress MLA Arif Masood said he will oppose the decision and any such move will not be allowed in MP. “Hijab has never spoiled the atmosphere in the education field in the past 70 years, rather it has bettered it and a time came when everyone was forced to wear masks (referring to Covid-19 prohibitions). Allow girls to live with honour and work for betterment of school education quality. The minister should go and take a look at the schools. First improve the quality of the schools, bring a budget for that,” Masood said.
The MLA added: “Girls look better covered. Like, I feel that my daughter should wear good clothes but her body should not be exposed, Inder Singh Parmar should also think the same way for the daughters of others.”
Latching on to Masood’s statement, BJP spokesman Dr Hitesh Bajpai said this thought process of the MLA where he (Masood) feels that he should decide upon what the girls should wear was a display of the Talibani attitude. “It is this Talibani attitude that we are opposed to. We are all for equal status for girls and they should be free to do whatever they feel like,” Bajpai said.
