My two cents on Hijab and education!

The court verdict didn’t come as a surprise to me at all. Ah, we know it all too well, don’t we?

For those privileged enough to stay away from the daily news and thus haven’t heard about this issue, here is what happened. A few girl children were banned from entering school premises with their hijab on, citing various reasons, one of which was that Hijabs aren’t part of the school uniform. The girls went to the court and the Karnataka high court has let the schools have their way and said that the girls have to follow the rules of the school and should not wear Hijab to school if the school says so.

Social media is filled with hundreds of opinions, and so I feel indebted to give mine as well. Here are my two cents.

I think the role of the state(Govt) is to make sure the necessary provisions reach every citizen. By necessary, I mean food, security, health care, and education. I don’t care if the state where I belong gives me a SIM card or runs an airline, but I want the state to provide every individual, with those necessary things I have mentioned above.

It is the mandate of the state to make these things available through every objection possible. Cultural, religious, and regional barriers should never come in between providing the necessities to its citizen. Any barrier, the state should try to overcome.

If I, as a citizen of a country, tell my child that he/she should not study unless he/she wear a particular dress, the state should find a way out of it, to help my ward get education through the complexities. A citizen can complicate his life due to economic, cultural, and religious pressures. But a progressive liberal state in the modern world should look beyond them.

So in the current scenario, the Govt should actively promote educating the girls. If the girls say they will come to school only by wearing a hijab, so be it. Educating that one kid is a hundred times more important than everyone wearing a school uniform.

Our state gives free food, so that the children come to school, at least to get food! That is how significant education is. Even economic problems should not come in between a child and their education. Religious, cultural norms can surely be overcome, if only we have our hearts in the right place.

Is the heart in the right place, though? Does the state intend on educating, “every individual”?

I sincerely doubt the intentions of the state.