LAHORE: The Punjab higher education department’s proposal to give five per cent marks in class attendance to female students wearing hijab to college sparked a controversy forcing the Punjab government spokesman to disown any such plan.

The controversy generated following Punjab Higher Education Minister Syed Raza Ali Gilani’s directions to the divisional directors (colleges) at the Lahore board here on Tuesday.

“Observance of hijab should be made necessary for college girls. If a girl’s attendance falls below 60 per cent, we will award her 5pc attendance marks if she is wearing a hijab,” he said, adding: “This is an Islamic society. We are forgetting our religion, culture and ethics. I have made the hijab compulsory for women and our sisters in colleges.”

However, as soon as these comments went viral on social media, views in favour of and against the proposal started pouring in. The first one to voice her opinion was Aseefa Bhutto Zardari. She tweeted: “What will the boys do? What will students of a different religion do? Why does wearing a Hijab impact grades/marks?”

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said the Punjab government was considering this proposal at a time when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was talking about moderation in the country. “We are totally against this as it is discriminatory,” he said.

Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the proposal to award grace attendance marks to college girls wearing hijab could be the education minister’s personal suggestion, but it had nothing to do with the Punjab government.

“The government is considering no such policy,” he said and added in a lighter vein that Mr Gilani should make his followers (mureed) wear a hijab.

The Punjab government through its spokesman also distanced itself from the education minister’s proposal.

Talking to Dawn, Minister Gilani said: “The department has just given the proposal. It is the prerogative of the chief minister to accept it or not.”

He said a wrong impression had been created that 5pc grace marks would be awarded to a hijab-wearing girl.

“Some 80pc girl students are already wearing hijab in colleges,” he added.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2017