AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly criticised the Allahabad High Court's recent order holding that a Muslim schoolgirl could not wear a hijab in school, calling the ruling a "direct attack on Islam."
"I disagree with the Allahabad High Court's order on the issue of the hijab," Owaisi said in a public statement, adding that "the order is a direct attack on Islam and also interference with the religious practices of Muslims," especially since the matter remains reserved for judgment before the Supreme Court.
Owaisi said the Allahabad High Court's judges ought to have withheld their ruling given that the Supreme Court is already seized of a related matter — an apparent reference to the pending Sabarimala-linked case, which examines the "essentiality" doctrine courts use to determine which religious practices qualify for constitutional protection.
He questioned why the judiciary should be the body deciding what is essential to Islamic practice.
He argued that the order runs counter to Articles 25 and 19 of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of religion and expression, drawing a comparison with religious articles worn by Sikhs.
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He also invoked the Supreme Court's ruling recognising the right to privacy as a fundamental right, asking how the state could regulate what a student chooses to wear on her own head.
Owaisi linked the ruling to wider concerns over Muslim women's access to education in Uttar Pradesh, saying Muslim girls already record the lowest high school enrolment among women in the state, and argued that restrictions on the hijab could further hinder their access to schooling.
He said a student wearing a hijab does so "on her head, not on her mind."
The Allahabad High Court's order has reignited debate around hijab bans in educational institutions, an issue that has previously reached the Supreme Court following a similar controversy in Karnataka.
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