A father’s Facebook post claims that a madrassa in Calicut, Kerala allegedly expelled his daughter for sporting a bindi on her forehead while shooting for a short film. 10-yr-old Henna is a student of class 5. Reportedly, she was reinstated a week after the alleged expulsion.

On July 5, the father, Ummer Malayil stated that his daughter Henna was dismissed from the madrassa because she sported a bindi on her forehead while shooting for a short film. He wrote, “Along with studies, she has proven her talents in singing, extempore and acting. Always a first rank holder in school and the madrassa. She has excelled at district and sub-district levels. She was the fifth rank holder in the public examination conducted by madrassas. Yet, she was expelled from the madrassa from the current academic year, because she sported a bindi while acting for a movie. What to do! Lucky, they didn’t sentence her to get stoned to death.”

While several people supported him taking a firm stand against such archaical practice, others blamed him and abused him saying he was trying to tarnish the name of Islam and it’s believed that there was another group of people who used this as an example to propagate anti-Islamic messages on social media.

Later on July 8, Ummer wrote another Facebook post as an answer to all the comments he has been receiving since the first post went viral. While he thanked the readers for all the positive, uplifting comments he received, he questioned his naysayers whether they tried to reach out to him personally to understand the whole situation before posting such derogatory remarks and trolling his account. Moreover, to those antisocial elements trying to use his post to spread anti-muslim messages on social media, he said he is a strong believer of Islamic faith, and also a strong propagator of religious harmony and believes in respecting other religions.

The Logical Indian take

A talented student was allegedly expelled for wearing a ‘bindi’ for a short film. However, the state of discourse in our country is at such a low level that people use this to malign an entire religion. People who are making this viral don’t seem to care about the state of education or about the future of the young girl. If the madrassa did expel her simply because of the alleged reason, then it is an act to be condemned.

Also Read: VP Rajeena: How Questions On Wrong Practices In Madarassa Invite Abuses & Threats