Karnataka lecturer resigns after she was told not to wear hijab in classroom

A lecturer at a private institution in Karnataka’s Tumakuru district resigned after being asked to remove her hijab. Chandini Naz, a three-year employee at the Jain PU College in the area, was forced to take off her hijab before entering the classroom.

“Right to religion is a constitutional right that nobody can refuse,” she wrote in her resignation letter, dated February 16.

“As I have addressed above, I Chandini, lecturer, department of English, resigning from my position of English subject, as you demanded me to remove my hijab which I have been wearing for three years in your college. The right to religion is a constitutional right that nobody can deny. Thank you. I condemn your undemocratic act (sic),” the letter read.

She stated she hasn’t had any problems thus far because she wears the hijab, according to media sources. “However, the principal informed me yesterday that I am not permitted to wear a headscarf or any other religious symbol while teaching. However, I have been teaching for the past three years while wearing a hijab. This new decision has taken a toll on my self-esteem “She was reported by NDTV as adding.

K.T. Manjunath, the college’s principal, said she was a part-time lecturer who was asked not to wear her hijab in the classroom after the interim High Court judgement. Instead, she chose to quit, according to The Print.

Manjunath reasoned that if a teacher is permitted to wear the hijab, students will demand that they be permitted to do so as well.