Students were asked to remove hijab for identification purposes Muslim women who arrived late for their final exams at a women’s college in Islamabad, Pakistan were left distraught after male invigilators demanded they remove their veils to confirm their identity before being granted entry to the examination.
The demands were described as shameful by students and teachers at Islamabad Model Postgraduate College For Girls, who called the incident a violation of human rights.
In Pakistan, a woman choice to cover her hair, neck and or face is regarded as a fundamental right and part of religious observance that is encouraged.
A nearby college teachers group has protested on behalf of the students who were instructed to remove their headscarves.
President of the Federal Government College Teachers Association, Tahir Mahmood, called the incident “nonsense” accusing the men of harassing the young women.
Punjab University, which administers exams for its affiliated colleges, has launched an investigation into the incident, citing that a lack of female proctors was the problem.
Former Minister of Information for Pakistan, Firdous Ashiq Awan, while speaking to Pakistani newspaper, The Nation added: “If high security airports and government buildings can manage to identify women without forcing them to expose their faces to men, then colleges should also be able to manage it.”