West Bengal: Kolkata teacher working at a private law college affiliated with the University of Calcutta resigned after the institute authorities allegedly requested her to refrain from wearing a ‘hijab’ at the workplace. According to the teacher, identified as Sanjida Qadar, the alleged order issued by the college governing body “offended” her “values and religious sentiments”.
The incident reportedly took place on May 31, following which Qadar resigned and stopped attending classes from June 5 at the LJD Law College.
Notably, she had been wearing the headscarf to the workplace since March-Aprilthis year, and the issue seemingly escalated over the past week.
However, as the issue went public and sparked an uproar, the college authorities issued a clarification and claimed that it was a “miscommunication”, adding that they never prohibited her from covering her head with clothes during working hours, reported PTI.
Following this, the institute sent her an email requesting her to resume the classes from June 11. Reportedly, the email also stated that according to the dress code for all faculty members, which is periodically reviewed and assessed, she was free to use a dupatta or scarf to cover her head while taking classes.
“There was no directive or prohibition, and the college authorities respect the religious sentiments of every stakeholder. She will resume classes on Tuesday. There is no misunderstanding. We engaged in prolonged discussions with her. The initial developments were the result of some miscommunication,” college governing body chairman Gopal Das told PTI.
However, Qadar said that she does not plan to resume her duties at the college.
“I received an email from the office on Monday. I will analyse my next steps and then decide. But I am not going to college on Tuesday,” she said.
