Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Anshul Vipat
CVoter-India Tracker did a survey to understand what the country thinks about the issue. The respondents were asked whether they agreed to the demand of the petitioners
Widespread protest broke out in Iran over the death of a young woman who was arrested by the "morality police" that enforces a strict dress code. The 22-year-old was detained earlier this week after officers apparently found fault with her headscarf, or hijab. The girl later slipped into a coma and died while in police custody in Tehran.
According to The Indian Express, Amini was detained in Tehran by the morality police. Witnesses claimed Amini was beaten while inside a police van that took her to a detention centre. She later collapsed during intogrettion and slipped into coma. The headscarf has been compulsory for women in Iran since after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The morality police units enforce a dress code in the Islamic republic that demands women wear headscarves in public, NDTV reported.
The protests in Iran marked a contrast with India, where girls protested in Karnataka to wear the hijab in a girls’ school. A dispute pertaining to school uniforms happened when some Muslim girls of junior college were denied entry on the grounds of wearing hijab. Petitions were filed in the Karnataka High Court which delivered its verdict on March 15, upholding the restrictions on hijab. The order was challenged in the Supreme Court where the case is currently being heard.
CVoter-India Tracker did a survey to understand what the country thinks about the issue. The respondents were asked whether they agreed to the demand of the petitioners. 35 percent of the respondents agreed to the notion while 45 percent disagreed. 18 percent of the respondents were not sure of their opinion.
As the accompanying chart shows Indians across age groups, gender, educational, economical and ethnic background gave their mixed opinion. 44 percent of the youths (18-24 age group) and 30 percent senior citizens supported the right to wear hijab in educational institutions. The same was seen among people with education and income backgrounds. Around 32 percent NDA supporters and 40 percent UPA supporters backed the notion.
We saw a similar pattern among ethnic groups. 46 percent Dalits and 29 percent Tribals argued that Muslims should have a right to wear hijab in educational institutions. The support among Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Upper Caste Hindus for the same was 28 percent and 21 percent respectively. A whopping 83 percent Muslims argued in favour of the notion. Talking about occupational patterns, more than half of those in government service argued that religious clothing should not be allowed in educational institutions. The self-employed group also echoed the same sentiment. On the other hand, more than one-third students, labourers and farmers said that Muslims should have a right to wear hijab in educational institutions.
