Muslim woman forced to remove hijab before exam in India
Incident at Gujarat recruitment center raises concerns over Islamophobia, gendered humiliation, and religious discrimination in public institutions
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A young Muslim woman has alleged that she was forced to remove her hijab in front of male staff at a railway recruitment examination centre in India’s western state of Gujarat, triggering outrage and renewed scrutiny of how public institutions treat visibly Muslim women.
In a video widely circulated on social media, the woman says examination staff stopped her at the entry point and told her she would not be permitted to take the test unless she removed her hijab — a headscarf worn by many Muslim women as part of their religious practice. She said the demand was made publicly, in the presence of male personnel, leaving her distressed and humiliated.
According to her account, when she objected and sought assistance from police personnel stationed at the venue, a female officer dismissed her concerns and urged her to comply.
The woman said she was effectively forced to choose between her religious faith and her right to appear for a competitive examination for which she had prepared and travelled from another state.
She described the incident as a violation of her dignity, privacy, and freedom of religion, arguing that religious observance should not become grounds for exclusion from public opportunities. “This is not just about me,” she said in the video. “It is about whether Muslim women are allowed to participate in public life without being humiliated.”
Civil rights advocates say the incident reflects a broader pattern in which Muslim women in India face disproportionate scrutiny, particularly around visible expressions of faith. They argue that such practices amount to institutionalized Islamophobia, where religious identity is treated as a security concern rather than a constitutional right.
The case has also raised questions about compliance with existing examination guidelines. Several recruitment and testing bodies in India allow religious attire, including hijab, subject to reasonable verification.
These guidelines typically recommend that any checks be conducted by female staff and in private, precisely to avoid public humiliation or coercion.
As of Friday, no official response had been issued by the railway recruitment authorities or Gujarat police regarding the allegations. Calls for a formal inquiry have grown louder as the video continues to circulate widely online.
For many observers, the incident underscores a growing fear among Muslim women that access to education and employment is increasingly conditioned on abandoning visible markers of faith. Rights groups warn that such coercion not only undermines equal opportunity but also signals a deeper erosion of religious freedom in public institutions.
The woman said she intends to pursue legal action, expressing hope that her case will prevent similar treatment of other candidates in the future and reaffirm that dignity and religious freedom are not negotiable prerequisites for participation in public life.
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