Mangalore: St. Aloysius College has dress code for lecturers too

The Hindu

Mangalore, 30 April 2012: A journalism lecturer, who applied for a job at St. Aloysius College here, has alleged that she was told by the principal during the interview that wearing burqa was not allowed inside the classroom.

 

The allegation comes close on the heels of a controversy about the college prospectus for 2012-13 mentioning that students would have to remove burqa inside the classroom.

 

Safiya Naeem, a resident of Mangalore, said she was interviewed for the post of a journalism lecturer in June, 2011.

 

Principal’s stand

“When I met principal Father Swebert D’Silva for the interview, he told me that I would have to remove my burqa if I get the job. I said I did not mind not wearing the burqa, but I would not remove the head scarf.”

 

“If he can wear a cassock, what is wrong in I wearing a burqa? When the college authorities said the rule could not be changed, I rejected the job offer,” she said.

 

“They have no right to tell me what to wear or what to eat. It depends on my interest,” Ms. Naeem said.

 

Asked why she was levelling the allegation nearly a year after the incident occurred, Ms. Naeem said she had thought that the subject was limited only to her, but now it looked like many others too were affected by the decision of the college management.

 

Registrar of the college A.M. Narahari told The Hindu that he was not aware of the incident and it was the principal who should respond to the allegations.

 

“Several teachers wear the burqa outside the college but ‘voluntarily’ remove when they enter classrooms. Teachers and students should follow a dress code to maintain decency,” he said.

 

However, the principal was not available for comment.