Kerala government has dismissed a Muslim girl student's request that she should be allowed to wear hijab along with student police cadets (SPC) uniform.
A Muslim girl student in Kerala had requested the state government to allow her to wear a hijab (head scarf) along with student police cadets (SPC) uniform which is a volunteer force operated by the state police among school children.
The state government has cited the High Court directive that uniforms must ensure the dignity of the dress code of the police force and children can work towards gender justice, non-religious, and non-racial discrimination.
The order issued by the joint secretary of the home department says, "Combining religious matters with uniforms in the present situation would raise the same demands in other similarly functioning forces, which would question the discipline and secular survival of the forces," as reported by TOI.
The request had come from a Class VIII student. She said that the existing dress code is not as per the Muslim community's religious beliefs and hence she should be allowed to wear hijab and full sleeve dress as it is a religious obligation and also her fundamental right as per article 25(1) of the constitution.
The police have responded by saying, "SPC project aims to create a society which respects and strongly believes in rule of law, to create a generation which places nation above all differences to become a constructive platform between police and students and act as a feeder organization for Kerala Police. As such, it was decided to have a similar training programme and uniform of the police for the SPC project. In Kerala Police, all police personnel are wearing the same uniform and no religious symbols are permitted in the uniform. The same system is being followed for SPC also."
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