The teacher of a private law college in Kolkata, who was allegedly asked not to attend classes wearing a hijab but later told a head scarf can be allowed, said she was not re-joining her workplace. The college accepted her decision saying it “honours” it.
Teacher Sanjida Qadar said she would not re-join duties and sent an email to college management conveying her decision.
The management of LJD Law College, Tollygunge, in an email to her on June 10, said she can resume her normal duties abiding by the dress code for the faculty members and “during her classes, she can use dupatta as a head scarf”.
Qadar, who had sought a week to convey her decision to the management, sent a fresh email to the management on Thursday saying, “After careful consideration of your order, I have decided not to re-join your institute and rather explore new opportunities, since I believe that this is the best option for my career goals at this time.”
Speaking to news agency PTI, she said that the she was not comfortable with the situation.
Replying to her communication, the college management said it “honoured” her decision and wished her luck and a prosperous career.
Qadar had been wearing the headscarf at the workplace since the month of Ramzan (in April) but the issue seemingly escalated over the past week.
She had resigned on June 5, alleging that the college authorities had instructed her not to wear hijab after issuing a dress code directive on May 31.
However, as the matter escalated, authorities said that there was a miscommunication and that she would be returning on June 11 after withdrawing her resignation.
The college governing body Chairman Gopal Das had said that they would wait for her final decision.