College bars girl with hijab, she moves HC

MUMBAI: A homeopathy student barred from attending college because she wears the hijab (headscarf) has moved court saying she is now being prevented from appearing for repeater exams in June because of poor attendance.


Bandra resident

Fakeha Badami

enrolled in the bachelor of homeopathy medicine and surgery course in Sai Homeopathic Medical College, Bhiwandi, in 2016.

The college, affiliated to the

Maharashtra University of Health Sciences

(

MUHS

), didn’t allow her to attend lectures because she wears the hijab.

The ministry of AYUSH (ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy) directed the college to resolve the issue, saying “it cannot compel a student to not wear the hijab since it is disrespect to social justice”. MUHS wrote to the state medical education and drugs department to know if there was any regulation barring Muslim students from wearing the hijab. It said she should be allowed to attend college.

But the college did not budge. By the time

Fakeha

approached the high court the first time, in November 2017, the college exams were over.
Girl says sister was allowed to wear hijab by another college

Homoeopathy student Fakeha Badami’s college told the high court that it would accommodate her in repeater lectures. Sai Homeopathic Medical College, Bhiwandi, was directed by the HC to approach Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) and seek its advice on rules and regulations.

Fakeha was allowed to attend lectures on March 19 only upon producing a copy of the HC’s order.

On March 28, the college wrote to MUHS asking if Fakeha should be allowed to appear for the repeater exams in view of her attendance of “only six days”.

MUHS replied on April 11, saying she “does not meet the mandatory attendance criteria”.

This prompted her to approach the HC again. Fakeha’s petition said the first term began on December 27, 2016. She attended college on December 28 and to her “utter shock and dismay” all Muslim students were being “coerced” to remove the hijab.

The students either stopped wearing the hijab or left the college. Fakeha’s petition states that she was harassed as continued wearing the hijab. As per her petition, her parents told the college Fakeha wore the hijab even in school and junior college. “India is a... secular democracy. Denying anyone... the right to wear the hijab is denying her the right to practice a religion of her choice, despite such right being clearly protected by the Constitution of India as a Fundamental Right under Article 25,” the petition stated.

“The college is under obligation to follow secular tenets.” The petition said Fakeha’s sister, studying homeopathy in another MUHS college, wears the hijab and is allowed to attend classes. Fakeha’s advocate, Sariputta Sarnath, told a vacation bench of Justices Shahrukh Kathawalla and

Ajay Gadkari

on Monday that Fakeha was allowed to attend classes only after the HC’s March 12 order and her lack of attendance was due to the college not permitting her to attend classes.

The bench asked him to serve notices to the college and other respondents and posted the hearing for Friday