Kozhikode: The Muslim Educational Society (MES), an educational group aimed at empowerment of Muslim women, has kicked off a new controversy, by banning veils (dress covering faces) inside its campus from next academic year. Muslim clergymen and student organisations have reacted against the new circular issued by MES president Dr PA Fasal Ghafoor.
“MES aims at social and cultural progress of Muslims through education and it insists that the students under its colleges should be reasonable in dressing as well as studies and co-curricular activities. We should discourage all tendencies that are inappropriate. So such dressing in the name of neither modernisation nor religion could be tolerated. Heads of institutions and local management should be more careful to insist the same,” the circular reads.
Founded in 1964, the Kozhikode-based MES runs 35 colleges and 72 schools. It's one of the largest educational organisations in India, with one lakh students. From the new academic year of 2019-20 onward, no student should be allowed to wear veiled dress inside the campuses of MES. Any controversy regarding the issue should be avoided, it added. The circular also directs to add the details of the same in the new college calendar.
The MES president also said that 99% of the women do not cover their faces and so, in order to ban the same, we do not need to discuss with religious organisations. However, Samastha, one of the largest religious organisation of Muslims in the state, reacted that the ban was not acceptable. They added that burqa and veiled dress were there from the beginning of Islam, and it was the right of the individual to choose one's dress.
Muslim Students Federation (MSF, the student wing of Indian Union Muslim League) reacted that the choice of dress was up to the individual and the ban cannot be agreed.
“As long as a dress is not banned by law, no institution can ban it. We are not arguing that veiled dress should be made compulsory on campuses. But if a student wishes to wear the same, we will stand by that student's right to wear it,” said MSF All-India president TP Ashrafali.
