Bengaluru, March 15 (UNI) Dr BR Ambedkar more than 50 years ago had said that insistence on wearing of purdah, veil, or headgear in any community may hinder the process of emancipation of woman in general and Muslim woman in particular, Karnataka High Court on Tuesday while giving its judgement against pro-hijab petitioners.
“What the Chief Architect of our Constitution observed more than half a century ago about the purdah practice equally applies to wearing of hijab there is a lot of scope for the argument that insistence on wearing of purdah, veil, or headgear in any community may hinder the process of emancipation of woman in general and Muslim woman in particular,” the Court said.
Hindering the process of emancipation of Muslim woman in particular, Dr Ambedkar noted it militates against the constitutional spirit of equal opportunity of public participation and ‘positive secularism.
Justifying its verdict, the Court quoted from Dr Ambedkar’s book ‘Pakistan Or The Partition Of India’ stating that burkha women walking in the streets is one of the most hideous sights one can witness in India and purdah makes women narrow-minded and restrictive in their outlook. “…A woman (Muslim) is allowed to see only her son, brothers, father, uncles, and husband, or any other near relation who may be admitted to a position of trust.
She cannot even go to the Mosque to pray, and must wear a burkha (veil) whenever she has to go out. These burka a woman walking in the streets is one of the most hideous sights one can witness in India,” Dr Ambedkar wrote in his book at Chapter X, Part 1 titled Social Stagnation.
He further wrote: “The Muslims have all the social evils of the Hindus and something more. That something more is the compulsory system of purdah for Muslim women… Such seclusion cannot have its deteriorating effect upon the physical constitution of Muslim women… Being completely secluded from the outer world, they engage their minds in petty family quarrels with the result that they become narrow and restrictive in their outlook…”
“They cannot take part in any outdoor activity and are weighed down by a slavish mentality and an inferiority complex…Purdah women in particular become helpless, timid…Considering the large number of purdah women amongst Muslims in India, one can easily understand the vastness and seriousness of the problem of purdah…As a consequence of the purdah system, a segregation of Muslim women is brought about …,” Dr Ambedkar noted.
The Court also traced Dr Ambedkar’s famous statement in the Constituent Assembly during debates on the Codification of Hindu Law in order to address the question of what is an essential religious practice in Indian context.
“The religious conception in this country are so vast that they cover every aspect of life from birth to death…there is nothing extraordinary in saying that we ought to strive hereafter to limit the definition of religion in such a manner that we shall not extend it beyond beliefs and such rituals as may be connected with ceremonials which are essentially religious,” he said.
As to wearing hijab being a matter of freedom of conscience, the Court referred to Dr Amedkar’s clarification in the Constituent Assembly Debates saying that there is scope for the argument that the freedom of conscience and the right to religion are mutually exclusive.
“Even by overt act, in furtherance of conscience, the matter does not fall into the domain of right to religion and thus, the distinction is maintained.
No material is placed before us for evaluation and determination of the pleading conscience of the petitioners. They have not averred anything as to how they associate wearing hijab with their conscience, as an overt act,” the Court observed.
“There is no evidence that the petitioners chose to wear their headscarf as a means of conveying any thought or belief on their part or as a means of symbolic expression.
Pleadings at least for urging the ground of conscience are perfunctory, to say the least,” it noted further. The Court today dismissed various petitions challenging the ban on hijab in classrooms of educational institutions during teaching hours.
It pronounced that wearing hijab was not an essential part of Islam. A three-judge bench of the Court was hearing writ petitions filed by Muslim girl students seeking permission to wear hijab during teaching hours in classroom.
