PTI MPA Nabila Hakim Ali on Wednesday submitted and withdrew a resolution calling to make the hijab mandatory at college-level across the province.
She submitted the resolution during a Punjab Assembly session to demand that the hijab be made mandatory at all public and private colleges but later withdrew it for reasons unknown.
Earlier, a minister’s “proposal” making it mandatory for government college girls to wear a hijab and offering them “extra” marks for covering themselves up created an embarrassing situation for the Punjab government.
“Observance of hijab should be made mandatory for college girls,” Punjab Higher Education Minister Syed Raza Ali Gilani said on Tuesday while addressing divisional directors of the Lahore board. He added that hijab-wearing students, who fail to fulfil the attendance requirement, would benefit from the education department’s decision, as five per cent grace marks would be accorded to them.
The statement created a furore in the media and the Punjab government moved quickly to reject the minister’s assertion. Information Secretary Raja Jahangir said, “No such summary has been received by the provincial cabinet from the Higher Education Department.”
He said the minister could not make such rules on his own without getting the approval of the cabinet and added that it was “beyond his competence to make a policy decision without the government’s approval”.
According to a handout issued by the DGPR, which was later withdrawn, the minister said that observance of hijab be made necessary for college girls, adding that five per cent grace attendance should be accorded as consolation in case they cannot meet the minimum required attendance figure.