The MES was established in North Kerala’s Kozhikode in 1964 with the primary aim of educating backward Muslims. It now runs 152 institutions across Kerala and Tamil Nadu, including medical and engineering colleges, management institutes and special schools.
MES has banned female students and faculty on its campuses from wearing niqab, the face veil, starting June 1.
The decision to ban the face veil has invited condemnation from some Muslim groups, which have accused the MES of interfering in the religious practices of students and faculty.
But PA Fazal Gafoor, president of the MES, said they are “least bothered about such criticism”. “We will implement our rules in our institutions. No one can interfere in that,” he added.
In an interview with a news portal on Friday, Gafoor pointed out that his April 17 “internal circular” conveying the MES’ decision to ban the face veil to the heads of its institutions states that it must be implemented “without giving space to any controversies”.
Not that there is any reason for controversy, he contended, given the circular merely restricts female students from wearing clothing that is “unacceptable to mainstream society”. According to Gafoor, such clothing includes jeans, leggings, miniskirts, and, of course, fail veils. “We just want our students to maintain decorum in their attire,” he insisted.
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