On Sunday, Karnataka’s Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said candidates wearing hijab will be allowed to attend recruitment examinations to government services.
Sudhakar said that not allowing the headscarf would infringe upon individuals’ rights. The decision was announced ahead of recruitment examinations for a number of government services scheduled to be held on October 28 and 29, The Times of India reported.
In February 2022, the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government banned wearing hijab in educational institutions through an order. Later Karnataka High Court upheld the ban by observing that hijab is not an essential practice in Islam, drawing worldwide criticism.
The ban has led to hundreds of students dropping out of government institutions.
