Our country has seen it all. They have seen almost 2 years of no physical school where online school created many setbacks. We have also seen a world, where girls drop out easier from schools than boys.
And now, we see the hijab controversy stirring a conversation because it is not a part of a ‘uniform’.
Six female students belonging to the Government PU College for Girls in Udupi were not allowed to attend classes wearing hijab. The college told students to follow the college’s dress code in the classroom. The six students chose to stay away from the classroom. Though uniform is not mandatory in colleges, College Development Committees, often headed by local MLAs, have been insisting on a dress code, including banning hijabs, in Udupi and other districts.
We live in the 21st century and there is no room for discrimination, and I have taught this to my daughter at a very young age. We have spoken to her about:
- There should always be equality between girls and boys and made sure they were exposed to books and movies that raise strong girls
- We have always spoken about colour – and that there should be no discrimination
- There is no room for body shaming and cyber bullying
- And, of course to respect individual for who they are – no matter what they wear and which religion they follow.
This is not the India we know. We are raising our children in a country where we have witnessed a Muslim President, Female Prime Minister and where cricket and Bollywood unifies everyone.
Write to us on [email protected] and tell us how you are raising your children with the same conversation.
Parul Gupta
KSP Team
Pooja Arora
Mansi Zaveri
Aikta Kumar
