Muskan Khan, a Muslim student who was hailed for braving threats and heckling by a Hindu mob outside her college in Karnataka’s Mandya, has been conferred with the Fatima Sheikh award for 2022.
Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam announced that Muskan will be honoured with the award for “asserting her right” as an Indian citizen.
“The Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam takes pride in announcing the Fatima Sheikh award to Muskan who firmly asserted her right as an Indian citizen by standing fearlessly before the saffron brigade which attempted to snatch the rights given to her by the Constitution of India,” TMMK’s M H Jawahirullah MLA tweeted.
“We are proud to bestow the award named after Fatima Sheikh”, widely regarded as the country’s first Muslim teacher,” he said.
In a video went viral last week, Muskan Khan was seen parking her two-wheeler outside a college in the city of Mandya before she is heckled by Hindu mob with “Jai Sri Ram” chants. The girl reacts by raising her hand and shouting back: “Allahu Akbar.”
Muskan Khan, who stood up to Hindu mob of saffron scarf-clad men, told reporters that she “was not worried about facing them alone and that she would keep fighting for her right to wear the hijab.”
Karnataka has been witnessing an agitation led by Muslim girls against ongoing hijab ban in educational institutions. Muslim students have been agitating since last month after they were not allowed to attend classes for being dressed in hijab.
Meanwhile, the lawyer for a group of Muslim girls seeking permission to wear hijab in educational institutions urged the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday to revoke its interim order banning “religious clothes”, including the hijab in schools and colleges.
“This order in effect suspends fundamental rights,” Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat told the court. “Kindly do not continue this interim order.”
