Muslim hijabi students leave exam venue after not being allowed entry

• Two girls from Karnataka, India, submit petition in court seeking permission to wear Hijab on campus.
• They try to convince invigilators and principal at Vidyodaya PU College but fail.
• Girls seen silently leaving college, quitting their exam.

Two girls from Karnataka, India, who had submitted a court petition seeking permission to wear Hijab inside classrooms, were refused to take their board examination after they requested to take the exam while wearing burqas, NDTV reported.

The two youngsters, identified as Aliya Assadi and Resham, tried to convince the invigilators and principal at the Vidyodaya PU College in Udupi for about 45 minutes but failed. They were told that there were no exceptions to the court order which upholds a state-wide ban on Hijab in educational institutes.

Assadi and Resham did not comply either and were seen silently leaving the college, quitting their exam.

"We are following the rules. Our invigilator tried convincing the girls but they did not budge. They clearly had no intention of giving their exams. They just wanted to create an issue," college Principal Sandeep Kumar was quoted as saying by NDTV.

NDTV also reported that there are 1,076 examination centres across the state which will have strict security to ensure students are following the dress code.

When many Muslim female students requested the education minister to allow taking exams in hijab, Minister BC Nagesh categorically refused.

"Hijab is important and so is writing and passing the exam. Our future depends on our exam results," a Muslim girl student said.

17-year-old Aliya Assadi is battling against the state's Hijab ban. She renewed her appeal to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai saying that he could stop their future from getting ruined.

"You still have a chance to stop our future from getting ruined. You can make a decision to allow us to write exams while wearing hijab. Please consider this. We are the future of this country," she tweeted.

The Karnataka High Court dismissed all petitions and said that wearing a hijab "is not an essential religious practice in Islam" and that the dress code should be followed in all educational institutions.

Muslim girls all over the state are boycotting the examinations. Some girls did not appear for the pre-university examination after being hurt by the court verdict.

The Supreme Court too has denied an urgent hearing.