Uttar Pradesh school prohibits Muslim girl student from wearing headscarf, tells her to join a madrassa

A school in the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh has reportedly barred Muslim girl students from wearing a headscarf to class, saying that they don’t go with the dress code of the school. [caption id=“attachment_4223937” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The parents of the Muslim girls have been told to get their children admitted to an Islamic school, or Madrasas, if they wish to continue the practice, reported News18. The report further said that the principal of Anand Bhawan School, Archana Thomas, told a Class VII girl to remove the headscarf from the next day if she wants to study in the school. When the student’s father had asked for permission for the same in a written application, he got a letter which read, “the school will not be able to provide any exemption from its rules,” ANI reported. “It is to clarify to you that this is a minority school, but there are many communities in minority category, and one community cannot impose its rules on other communities,” the letter said. Thomas also asked him not to “disrupt the school’s functioning by asking unnecessary questions,” the ANI report added. While speaking to News18, the girl said that her father had taken prior permission for the headscarf. “Principal ma’am denied the permission. Next day, when I wore the scarf, she called me and snatched away my scarf. My cousin, too, was denied permission and was scolded for wearing the headscarf to school,” she was quoted as saying in the report. The girl’s father told ANI that he also met the district magistrate regarding the school’s order, but to no avail. “It felt like talking to the principal. He didn’t hear anything that I had to say, and made it clear that he will not help me in any way,” the father was quoted as saying in the report.