Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: The Kozhikode-based Muslim Education Society (MES) has banned its students from wearing face veils (niqab) on the campuses of its institutions.
The Kozhikode-based Muslim Education Society (MES), which runs several educational institutions has issued a circular urging its students not to attend classes wearing any face-covering attire.
As the move triggered protests from orthodox Muslim organizations and scholars, the educational society admits it’s unusual and a similar thing has not been done in the community before.
The reason why MES has made the compulsion to unveil women’s faces in campuses is because of a lack of proper communication amongst teachers and students.
The MES has ordered a ban only on ‘face veils’ and not ‘head scarfs’. Head scarves do not pose an issue of improper interaction.
On April 17, MES Institutions President PK Fazal Gafoor in the directive mentioned that the move should be implemented from the 2019-20 academic year without triggering any controversy.
“Without creating any controversy, the institutions must make sure to implement from 2019-20 academic year that students do not come to the class wearing any attire covering their face,” it said.
The circular addressed to the secretaries and the principals of the MES institutions also asked them to include the dress code directive as a new rule in the college calendar for the new academic year.
The MES has been facing demands for withdrawing the move, Mr. Gafoor held his ground on Thursday.
“According to the High Court order all managements retain their right to decide on dress code. We will not allow students or teachers to cover their faces with face veil from the coming academic year,” he told NDTV.
“Covering the face is not inherent to the culture in Kerala, the tradition and practices of faith followed here. Students cannot even be recognized with their face veils nor students can follow the teachers well if they wear a face veil. If any other Muslim organizations have issues with this decision, they can allow for face veils in institutions under them,” Mr. Gafoor added.
Mr. Gafoor said the MES was not ready to implement the dress codes being imposed in the name of “religious fundamentalism”.
“We have the freedom to ban such attires on our campuses. There is no need to consult with religious outfits for that,” the MES President said.
The MES is being criticized by Samashtha, an orthodox outfit of Muslim scholars, said the circular was “un-Isalamic” and it should be withdrawn.
“As per the Islamic rules, the body parts of women should not be shown out. The MES has no right to issue a circular banning the attire covering the face of women. Islamic rules should be followed,” Umar Faize, a Samastha scholar, said.
A debate over face veils was triggered last month after the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, following which the government there banned the ‘niqab’ or ‘burqa’ and ‘ face masks’ on grounds of national security.
(With inputs from PTI)
Stay tuned for more updates!
