Students at Delhi Public School (DPS) Athwajan here staged protest after school authorities “forced” a female teacher to resign for wearing Abaya in school.
The DPS students boycotted their classes and staged protests terming the move by the school authorities as “interference in the religious affairs.”
Protesting students also launched campaign on social networking demanding apology to the teacher by the school authority.
“Our teacher was forced to resign after she chose Islamic dress code over her job. We cannot remain silent. School authorities must come clear what is their policy? Do they hate people following teachings of Islam,” said a group of students.
“We give a deadline to school authorities till Monday. The administration should apologize for the act and call back the teacher,” they added.
“We have been enrolled by our parents in this school for quality education for which they are paying fee. We are not in this school to forget our Islamic values. We will oppose any move that is against teachings of Islam and aimed to promote western dress code and lifestyle,” the aggrieved students said.
Some faculty members tried to pacify the protesting students, however, they did not relent.
The teacher, who resigned from the school, said that she had worked in many other schools in past. “But no one objected to my Islamic dress code. I was appointed in DPS this year but the school management objected to my dress code and asked me to choose between Abaya and job. As a Muslim, I chose my dress code as nothing is dearer to me than my religion,” she added.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of Duktaran-e-Millat Syeda Asiya Andrabi condemned the action of Delhi Public School authorities against the teacher.
“The principal of the school (Kusum Wariku) forced this teacher to leave her job by asking her to choose between a modest dress (she was wearing an Abaya) or her job. This is yet another institutionalized Hindutvisation of our schools wherein we are being forced to adhere to Hindu culture and its norms,” Aasiya said.
“This principal must understand that Kashmir is a Muslim majority state and its people will dress as per the Islamic dress code. The protesting students have done a commendable job and I also urge the teachers of the school to join them until this pro-Hindutva principal apologizes for this anti-Muslim act,” she added.
Jama’at-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir denounced, what it termed as the anti- Islamic role played by the administration of the DPS Srinagar and extending support to the peaceful protest held by the students.
“The parents of the children reading in this school pay huge amounts of fee for educating their wards but not for divesting them of their religious rituals. The teaching staff has to provide better education against the salaries but at the cost of their faith. The parents should support their children in their protest against the anti- Islamic behaviour of the school administration which has been implanted here with the purpose of the cultural aggression against the Muslims which the Muslim parents are duty bound to keep an eye on,” the Jama’at spokesman Advocate Zahid Ali, in a statement today.
When contacted DPS Chairman, Vijay Dhar refused to comment over the matter, saying, “I am in Delhi. You talk to Principal on her landline number.”
However, despite several attempts, no one responded on the landline number
