India - October 2022

India's Supreme Court announced on 13 October a split decision on allowing hijabs to be worn in classrooms and has referred the case to the Chief Justice. The verdict extends a 10-month-long polarizing debate, which critics allege is the latest case of authorities trying to marginalize Muslims under the state's Hindu extremist policies. Muslim women have protested that the ban goes against their freedom of expression and religion and access to education. Women protesting the ban have faced violence from counter-protesting young men wearing saffron shawls and waving orange flags, emblematic of Hindu nationalist groups. 

Sources: The Hindu Times, NPR, Reuters