Demolishing homes and businesses became a symbol of anti-Muslim hate in India, and women appear to be bearing the brunt of this trend.
In New Delhi’s Jahangirpuri district, a new police post stands across from a dilapidated cinema hall. The C Block area of Jahangirpuri, once bustling with people buying from small shops and kiosks, now lies abandoned. Numerous barricades set up by the police have replaced these makeshift shops. India bulldozes Muslim women’s independence
India is known for some of the worst crimes against women, especially minorities. India has been graded as the most dangerous place to live on planet earth for women. India bulldozes Muslim women’s independence
India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women, rape, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated. Last year, Muskan, the brave Muslim girl who stood firm before a mob of Hindu far-right goons in Karnataka state while she retaliated by shouting back .
She inadvertently became the face of resistance for young Indian Muslim women amid an escalating row over hijabs or headscarves. Instead of pacifying the situation, other schools also started enforcing a ban on the hijab, out of fears of RSS supporters who also simultaneously started shouting pro-Hindutva slogans to worsen the situation.
The state machinery seemed to be helpless before the group. Instead, some ruling party members issued statements to defend the ban on the hijab which encouraged RSS members to provoke the situation.
The harassment of Muskan drew the ire of some Bollywood celebrities, media personalities, intellectuals and politicians, who condemned the Modi government for taking the country to that low. Later, a three-judges bench of the Karnataka High Court had upheld the state government’s ban on Hijab in schools and colleges on the grounds that wearing it was not “essential” to Islam.
The discriminatory verdict made a mockery of India’s so called liberal and secular credentials under Modi’s Hindutva-inspired regime, thus will marginalize Muslims and stoke the embers of Islamophobia and communal strife in India.
Moreover, the Hijab ban cannot be justified as a reasonable restriction on religious freedom on the grounds of fraternity, public order and public safety; violates gender equality and also infringes upon the bas rights of girls to education.
Apropos, India as a signatory to several international conventions, stands in violation of following conventions: – a. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (Article 18 of UDHR, Article 18 of ICCPR), b. Freedom of expression (Article 19 of UDHR, Article 19 of ICCPR), Discrimination against Muslims and Women (Article 26, ICCPR, CWDAW), c. Right to education (UDHR Article 26, ICESCR, CRC).
At the national and state level, BJP government has adopted a slew of laws and policies that systematically discriminate against religious minorities and vulnerable communities, especially Muslims. The world has always turned a blind eye towards dire situations of minorities’ especially women in India. It has contributed in up-scaling of HRVs to a catastrophic level transforming into human tragedy.
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