Mehbooba Mufti, head of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in India-administered Kashmir, has expressed a strong reaction to not allowing female students wearing abayas to enter the school.

According to Hindustan Times, on Thursday, the management of Vishwa Bharati School in Renavari allegedly banned the students from entering the school wearing abayas, which the students also protested.

Talking to journalists, Mehbooba Mufti said that the action of the school administration is an attack on religious freedom.

‘It is our personal right to decide for ourselves what to wear and what not to wear. Do not force us to do anything that is against our religion.’

He further said that ‘It is our constitutional right to wear or eat whatever we want.’

According to Mehbooba Mufti, ‘We have seen such incidents in Karnataka before and now it is starting to be done in Kashmir as well. We will not accept this in any way and there will be a strong reaction against it.’

He alleged that they are now harassing Islamic scholars like Dawoodi and Veri. A day ago, Scholar Rahmatullah was summoned by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). All this is unacceptable.’

He raised the question that ‘if the situation is normal after the abrogation of Article 370, then why is NIA calling Islamic scholars?’

The students also protested against this initiative of Vishwa Bharati School administration.

A student participating in the protest said that ‘we were not allowed to go to school and the gates were closed for wearing abaya.’

The media was told by the school administration that the students were asked to follow the dress code and the administration is not against anyone’s religious beliefs or hijab.

In the first month of January this year, the management of a college in Karnataka denied entry to six female students allegedly for wearing hijab, after which there was a protest on their behalf.

After the incident, students of many colleges started going to classes by wearing saffron scarves in protest, after which the protest spread to many parts of Karnataka state.

In response, the Karnataka government asked all students to adhere to the uniform and banned hijab and headscarves pending a decision by a committee of experts.

On February 5, the Education Board had issued a circular that students can wear only those uniforms approved by the school administration and any clothing with religious expression will not be allowed in the colleges.