Owaisi slams hijab ruling, calls it ‘Attack on Islam’
AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has strongly criticised the Allahabad High Court’s recent decision rejecting a Muslim student’s plea to wear a hijab with her school uniform.
Reacting to the ruling, Owaisi described the decision as an “attack on Islam” and argued that judges cannot determine which practices are essential to a religion.
“Islam is our religion, and we will decide what is essential in it,” Owaisi said, while questioning the court’s approach to matters of religious practice.
The AIMIM leader also pointed out that the Supreme Court is already considering issues related to essential religious practices and freedom of religion. He argued that the Allahabad High Court should therefore have avoided making a ruling on the matter while the broader legal question remains before the apex court.
Owaisi further claimed that the judgment conflicts with Articles 19 and 25 of the Indian Constitution, which protect freedom of expression and religious freedom.
Defending the student’s right to wear a hijab, Owaisi said the decision concerns a personal and religious choice. He remarked that the student was wearing a hijab on her head, “not on her brain,” stressing that wearing the religious garment should not be viewed as a barrier to education or academic ability.
He also warned that the ruling could discourage Muslim girls from pursuing education, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. According to Owaisi, Muslim girls already have relatively low enrolment at the secondary-school level in the state, and restrictions on religious attire could create additional obstacles for them.
The controversy follows an Allahabad High Court ruling issued on August 21, in which a two-judge bench dismissed a petition filed by a Muslim student from a private school in Prayagraj. The student had sought permission to wear a hijab along with the prescribed school uniform.
The student had already completed her high school education and wanted to continue in Class 11 at the same institution. Her petition challenged the school’s restriction on wearing the hijab as part of the uniform.
The bench, comprising Justices J.J. Munir and Indrajeet Shukla, rejected the argument that wearing a hijab constitutes an essential religious practice in Islam. The judges noted that several High Courts have previously held that wearing a hijab is not an obligatory religious practice for Muslim women to the extent that failing to observe it would affect their faith.
The court also maintained that students cannot unilaterally alter an institution’s prescribed uniform based on their individual preferences. The ruling has since sparked debate over the balance between uniform regulations, religious freedom and students’ rights in educational institutions.
