“It was the dress that was a problem for me”: Enrolling Muslim Girls in a Citizenship Training Programme in Kerala, India

With the hijab ban that erupted in Karnataka still awaiting the final verdict in the Supreme Court, this talk examines the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme in Kerala that, in 2022 dismissed a petition put forward by a cadet to wear the hijab and full sleeve shirt with the cadet uniform. Drawing on data from a multi-sited ethnography of the SPC programme the talk illustrates how Muslim female cadets negotiated different “regimes of veiling” to participate in the cadet programme. Insights from feminist theories on South Asian women’s participation in gendered spaces shed light on how the cadets, families, schools and police engaged in tacit and flexible arrangements so that students might benefit from the exposure provided by the cadet programme. In conclusion, it is argued that “reasonable accommodations” rather than “reasonable restrictions” should be the guiding principle if our concern is the best interests of girls, especially their access to education and opportunities.