A tense calm prevailed near the city-based Sweekar Multi Speciality Rehabilitation Centre after reports of students with hijab/burqa being barred emerged. On Wednesday, an anonymous Twitter account shared the purported ordeal of a girl student. The student wrote: “The chairman of our institute Hanumantha Rao has asked the Muslim girls to not enter the college wearing a burqa. It’s surprising that it’s happening in Hyderabad.”
“Students walk in with burqa, they are provided with a locker to keep the garment and they attend classes wearing hijab. The rumour is a creation of mischief mongers,” said Dr. Hanumantha Rao of Sweekar dismissing the news. He said there is no such ban. “Ours is a specialised educational institution and we ask students not to wear burqa during rehabilitation work with special children,” said Mr. Rao. No formal complaint has been filed about the social media post by the institution.
Police force deployed
Two students wearing burqas walked into the college without being stopped by security personnel. “We have not been barred from entering based on our burqa,” said one of the students. “We enter the premises wearing a burqa but attend classes wearing hijab. We have not been forced to do otherwise,” said another first-year B. Ed student before entering the classroom.The institution functions as a rehabilitation centre as well as an educational facility for psychology, language learning and audiology.
Alarmed over the social media post, a strong contingent of the police force was deployed near the location on Thursday. Police personnel interacted with the chairman of the institution and asked him about the policies of the institution.
“We have been asked to investigate. We have learned about plans to protest near the institute and that’s why you can see so many personnel,” said a police official deployed near the facility near Jubilee Bus Station in Secunderabad.
