Muskan Khan, the Indian Muslim girl who refused to surrender when a mob of Hindu extremists heckled her and jeered at her inside her college in the Karnataka State for wearing a burqa and hijab, told NDTV that she would continue wearing hijab, continue her education and continue fighting the hijab ban.
Talking to the news channel after the incident, Muskan said that most of the Hindutva supporters who bullied her were outsiders and only a few of them were the college students. She said she would continue wearing hijab as it was part of her life as Muslim girl.
Answering a question about how her college teachers and class-fellows responded to Hindu extremists’ action, Muskan said her college principal and all lecturers supported her and protected her against the attackers who were trying to frighten her and block her entry into the college.
Muskan, who is a B.Com second year student and was visiting her college to submit her assignment when she was attacked by dozens of Hindu extremists, said her class-fellows, Hindus, Muslims and those from other religions, fully supported her.
A lone Muslim girl on the way to her college in Karnataka, India is being heckled and harassed by a Hindu right-wing mob for wearing a hijab! pic.twitter.com/DiVjCbqpdW
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) February 8, 2022
Muskan said, “Five other Muslim girls were heckled in the same way earlier. They were told to remove their burqa and hijab before entering the college or go back. They broke into tears, but I confronted them.”
“Yes, our priority is our education. Just for a piece of cloth, they are ruining our education,” she told the interviewer.
Telling the interviewer whether she felt safe or unsafe after the mob attack, Muskan said she felt safe because everyone was supporting her – her teachers, class-fellows, the community and even the police.
I hv watched this video several times. Agression in her eyes told us Jinnah was right. How difficult for her to face Hindutva goons. In a country like Endia… how'll she survive.. 😐🙏#ThankYouJinnah #شکریہ_پاکستان#Muskan #HijabRow #HijabIsOurPride #PakistanZindabad pic.twitter.com/1NVfvqB5Em
— Marri Malik 🇵🇰 (@DictatorMarri) February 9, 2022
Amid the increasing persecution of minorities, especially Muslims, under the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this is not the first incident of Hindutva mob attacking Muslim girls wearing hijab to their schools and colleges.
A large Hindu Right Wing mob threatening a small number of Muslim school girls wearing hijab in Karnataka, India! @RakshaRamaiah pic.twitter.com/FsadAUqsbK
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) February 8, 2022
On Tuesday, the chief minister of the southern Karnataka state ordered schools and colleges to shut for three days after protests erupted in reaction to some schools refusing entry to Muslim students wearing hijab.
According to local media reports from the last week, several schools in the coastal city of Udupi denied entry to Muslim girls wearing hijab in line with the order of the education ministry. The move triggered protests from Muslim students and their parents.