WASHINGTON
\nA US official has voiced concerns about the controversial banning of the headscarf at schools and colleges in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, prompting a strongly worded rebuttal from New Delhi.
\nRashad Hussain, the US ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, said in a tweet on Friday that the hijab ban would stigmatise and marginalise women and girls.
\n\u201cReligious freedom includes the ability to choose one\u2019s religious attire,\u201d Hussain tweeted.
\n\u201cThe Indian state of Karnataka should not determine permissibility of religious clothing. Hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatize and marginalize women and girls.\u201d
\nOn Saturday, India\u2019s external affairs ministry hit back at what it called \u201cmotivated comments\u201d on its internal issues, adding that the case was under judicial examination.
\n\u201cOur constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as our democratic ethos and polity, are the context in which issues are considered and resolved. \u2026 Motivated comments on our internal issues are not welcome,\u201d said ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi.
\nThe dispute erupted last month, when a group of Muslim students protested after they were barred from entering their college because they were wearing hijab \u2013 a headscarf that many Muslim women wear. Since then several other colleges have seen protests both for and against the hijab ban, with Hindu right-wing groups wearing saffron shawls holding protests against hijab.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON A US official has voiced concerns about the controversial banning of the headscarf at schools and colleges in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, prompting a strongly worded rebuttal from New Delhi. Rashad Hussain, the US ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom, said in a tweet on Friday that the hijab ban would stigmatise and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[533,4053,195,254,4054],"class_list":{"0":"post-244301","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-5g-plus","9":"tag-hijab-ban","10":"tag-india","11":"tag-religious-freedom","12":"tag-violates"},"yoast_head":"\n