'They cannot force this upon us': Muslim women in India protest hijab ban

Muslim women in southern India are seeking to overturn a state policy that allows schools to ban the hijab in a case that has polarized the country and added to concerns about discrimination against its Muslim minority.

A court hearing on the issue in the southern state of Karnataka is continuing this week. Students challenging the ban on the hijab, or headscarf, say it infringes on their right to education and religious freedom in Hindu-majority India, where secularism is enshrined in the constitution.

Hindu nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment have been rising in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, critics say. In recent months, prominent Muslim women in India have appeared on unsanctioned apps listing them for “auction,” while Hindu nationalist leaders have openly called for Muslims to be killed.