Karnataka Hijab row: Priyanka Gandhi lends support to girls, says women have right to wear 'Bikini, ghoonghat, jeans, Hijab'

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday lent support to Muslim girls amid the 'Hijab row' in Karnataka stating that women have the right to decide what they want to wear. The Congress leader, on her official Twitter handle, said whether it is a "bikini, a ghoonghat, a pair of jeans or a hijab it is a woman's right to decide what she wants to wear."

She further wrote that this right has been guaranteed by the Indian Constitution and linked the issue with Congress's poll slogan of women's empowerment in Uttar Pradesh 'Ladki hoon lad sakti hoon'. "This right is GUARANTEED by the Indian constitution. Stop harassing women. #ladkihoonladsaktihoon," Gandhi further said in the tweet.

The Hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU college in Udupi district in Karnataka when some students alleged that they had been barred from attending classes. During the protests, some students were allegedly denied entry to college wearing hijab by Muslim women earlier this month. On Monday, students of different colleges arrived that Shanteshwar Education Trust in Vijayapura wearing saffron stoles amid the Hijab row in Karnataka.

The pre-University education board had released a circular stating that the students can only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious practices will be allowed in colleges. Following these protests, a three-day holiday from February 9 to 10 has been declared in all the universities under the Department of Higher Education and colleges under the department of Collegiate and Technical Education (DCTE).

On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court also appealed student community and the public at large to maintain peace and tranquillity while hearing various pleas challenging a ban on hijab in the state.