On the 2nd of May, the Kerala Muslim Education Society (MES) released a circular which banned female students from wearing face masks or veils. The circular was passed on the 17th of April by the MES, an institution which runs over 150 schools in Kerala.
The circular will come into effect for the academic year of 2019 – 2020. The circular says that it will be difficult to accept clothing of any style in the name of modernity or religious styles. The MES further asked the heads of the colleges and institutions under its wing to mention in its calendar that this is a law issued by the government.
The circular said, “As per the above order (WP(C) No. 35293/2018’) all colleges are instructed to prepare a noncontroversial college calendar, including a law that prohibits women students from coming to classes covering their faces from the 2019-2020 academic year.”
With various organisations opposing the ban on face veils, it is likely that this law is going to face severe scrutiny once it goes into effect.
While Sri Lanka did issue a ban on veils and face masks after the Easter Mass blasts, Gafoor says this order doesn’t have any correlation with the blasts, but is a direct necessity to reduce all undesirable tendencies on campuses. Gafoor further said that this order was passed because MES is very aware of what is good and what is bad for the community.
Stay tuned for more updates.
