Muslims step up protest on headscarf ban in Kerala

(July 06,2010) Muslims in India’s southern Kerala State say they will intensify their protest against a Catholic school that refuses to allow girls wearing headscarves to attend classes. It is “our fundamental right to practice our religion,” said Abdul Jabbar, district secretary of the Popular Front of India, a confederation of Muslim organizations. Muslim groups in Thalassery have been protesting the Church-managed San Jos Metropolitan School’s policy for over a year.
The school allows students to wear headscarves to campus but wants them to take them off once they reach the classroom. “We will intensify our protest until the school permits our students to wear headscarves in class,” said Jabbar, who organized a march to the school on July 1. He said Muslims also want Muslim boys to be allowed to attend Friday prayers at a mosque nearby.
Principal Sister Rosemary said the school cannot agree to the headscarf demand, as it would make the school uniform’s dress code meaningless. “We will not accept the demand. It is not the sole decision of the management; it is also the decision of the Parent-Teacher Association,” she told UCA news.
The nun said the school also cannot allow students to attend Friday prayers. Students are only allowed to leave the campus after school hours because of security and disciplinary reasons, she said.
Chancellor Father John Onamkulam said the archdiocese-managed school treats all religions equally. “We can’t show partiality to anyone.” Although several talks between the school and Muslim groups have failed, the Church is open to further talks, the priest said.
Some 40 percent of 1,050 students in the co-educational school are Muslims. Hindus form some 50 percent and Christians make up the rest.