Paul Pogba, a French footballer and Manchester United midfielder, is the latest celebrity to join the Karnataka hijab debate. Pogba, one of the best footballers of the contemporary era, resorted to social media to express his feelings about the ongoing hijab dispute in India, expressing sympathy with Muslim students in Karnataka.
In response to the continuing controversy, the French international shared a 57-second video on Instagram of a group of girls being harassed by a mob, captioned, “Hindutva mobs continue to harass Muslim females wearing hijab to college in India.” Pogba’s current social media activity on the photo and video sharing platform has caught the attention of Indian Twitter users. On the microblogging site, Pogba’s name was mentioned in almost 4000 tweets.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court orally stated on Thursday that it will prohibit students and all stakeholders from insisting on wearing any religious garment, including the headscarf and saffron shawl, till a final decision is reached.
The hijab protests began on February 4 at the Government Girls PU college in the state’s Udupi region, when several students said they were prohibited from attending classes because of their religious beliefs. Earlier last month, during the protests, Muslim women allegedly denied several students admission to campus because they were wearing hijab.
Subsequently, stone-throwing, heckling of a girl wearing a hijab, hoisting of a saffron flag on college grounds, and a large number of students wearing hijabs and saffron shawls taking to the streets were all reported from various locations across the state.
