The newly elected Congress government in India's Karnataka state will look into Amnesty India's request to revoke the Hijab ban in educational institutes.
On Tuesday, in a series of tweets, Amnesty India urged the state government to take three priority actions for human rights, including immediately revoking the ban on women wearing hijabs in educational institutions.
Talking to media persons, Karnataka Minister G. Parameshwara said the government "will see to it" in the future.
Another minister, Priyank Kharge, said that the hijab ban is a policy matter and the government will explore all the legal options to deal with the issue.
"Congress government will take a relook and all such policies and legislations of the previous BJP government which are against the Constitution, against the spirit of building the society, and against the inclusiveness of the society," Kharge further.
He is also the son of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Hijab Row in India
The Hijab row erupted when educational institutions in the Udupi district told several Muslim girl students wearing hijabs that they were not allowed to enter classrooms.
The incident prompted Muslim students to stage protests across the state, which later turned violent.
The matter then reached the state High Court in March 2022. It upheld the state government's decision, which said that students across the state must wear prescribed uniforms while attending the pre-university college.
In October 2022, the Supreme Court of India delivered a split verdict on the Karnataka government's hijab ban as the bench could not arrive at a unanimous decision.
After which, the top court in March 2023 said it would form three-member benches to hear the matter.