TRIGGERING a fresh controversy, parents of a Muslim girl moved court after a Catholic school allegedly asked their four-year old to stop wearing Hijab, the traditional headscarf, or face expulsion.
The parents of the kindergarten student Fathima Bibi moved the Guwahati High Court early this month against the decision of the Catholic church-run Kristo Jyoti School in Golaghat district.
Alee Ahmed, mother of the girl said she had no option but to seek justice in the court.
“Hijab is a part of the tradition. So she wears the scarf on head along with the complete uniform. I hope justice will be done to my daughter,” she said.
The school principal Jose Varghese served a notice to Fatima’s parents on March 28 asking them to remove the scarf within 15 days or not to send their child to school.
The problem started on March 21 when Fatima’s class teacher objected to her wearing the headscarf along with the school uniform as it violates school’s dress norms.
The teacher also wrote a remark asking the parents to abide by the rules of school. On March 25, the girl’s parents wrote to school principal requesting him to relax the uniform rules for her.
But he refused and served the notice. On April 8, Fatima’s mother filed a writ petition in the High Court to set aside the school’s decision.
Father Varghese said he has nothing against the girl but her dress violates the norms of the school.
He said it was not right for the parents of any student to seek relaxation after agreeing to abide by the school’s rules and regulations at the time of admission.
“Apart from Fatima, there are several Muslim girls as student. If we make any relaxation for her then we may have to allow other girls to wear the scarf,” said Father Varghese.
The father of the girl hails from Kerala and is posted in Manipur while the mother is a local resident of Bokakhat.
