Muslim women with hijabs are prohibited from visiting Delhi cafés

Another instance of prejudice and Islamophobia occurred in India when Muslim women wearing hijabs were turned away from a café in the capital city of New Delhi.

The event happened at Marbia Café, which is situated in Friends Colony close to Jamia Millia Islamia University in southern Delhi, according to reports from the Kashmir Media Service (KMS).

The women tried to enter the café while wearing hijabs, but the receptionist stopped them and told them that burqas were not allowed inside. “We were asked by the receptionist if we had a reservation, to which we answered that we didn’t, but we would reserve a table immediately. Then she made it very clear that we were not permitted to wear burqas. One of the victim ladies said, “We were shocked and left the venue without arguing with her.”

When the victims got in touch with the café, the management told them that hijabs were, in fact, forbidden under their policy, even though they had no good reason to discriminate in this way.

“First of all, they said that hijabs are not permitted inside. The man said that it was simply their policy when she pressed him for an explanation, she added.

This event is part of a troubling trend of harassment that hijabi women and students in India are experiencing, which has been made worse under the BJP administration lead by Modi. An alarming increase in Islamophobic attitude is reflected in the rise in instances of attire-based discrimination.

A Muslim student in Karnataka challenged a lecturer in November 2022 after the latter compared him to a terrorist based only on his Islamic name. Sadly, stories of Muslim victims of mob lynchings have increased worryingly in a number of Indian states.

Karnataka colleges were forced to close in February 2022 as a result of student protests against a new uniform policy that forbade headscarves in classrooms. Muslim students staged rallies, while Hindu students counterprotested.

More recently, in January of this year, senior cabinet member Kirori Lal Meena of Rajasthan sparked popular outcry by pushing for the prohibition of hijabs in private and madrasas as well as government schools, therefore escalating religious intolerance and discrimination.