Rashad Hussain, the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom (IRF), tweeted, “The Indian state of Karnataka should not determine the permissibility of religious clothing. Hijab bans in schools violate religious freedom and stigmatize and marginalize women and girls”.
This reaction comes in the wake of the events of the hijab ban in schools and colleges in Karnataka. Currently, this matter is heard by the Karnataka High Court. He is the first US Government official to publicly comment on the controversy that erupted in Karnataka.
These political comments are made a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Melbourne on Friday about the Quad grouping in the strategic Indian Ocean region.
Rashad, an Indian-American attorney and diplomat, was appointed by President Joe Biden’s administration last year as the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. The Biden Administration has been expressive to the Modi Government concerning India lapsing on human rights and freedom of speech and religion.
