While the majority of the trolls cursed the girl and her family for the absence of hijab, some even went to the extent of death threats
Parvaiz, who hailed from the Ellahibagh area of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, scored 499 marks out of 500 in science stream. Image credit: Twitter
Aroosa Parvaiz, who topped the Class 12 board exams in Kashmir, became a target of online trolling for not wearing a ‘hijab’ and also received death threats.
Reacting to the trolls, the topper said “don’t need to wear a hijab to prove myself a good Muslim.”
“Wearing or not wearing hijab doesn’t define one’s belief in their religion. Maybe, I love Allah more than they (trolls) do. I’m a Muslim by heart not by hijab,” said Parvaiz.
She further said that the vicious online attack has unsettled her family.
“These comments do not matter to me, but my parents are undergoing trauma”, she told reporters.
The online attack started on 8 February, when the Jammu and Kashmir State Board of School Education (JKBOSE) announced its annual results for Class 12.
Parvaiz, who hailed from the Ellahibagh area of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, scored 499 marks out of 500 (99.80 per cent) in the science stream.
On Friday, she was felicitated by the district administration for bagging the first position in the science stream in the recently declared results of class 12 board examination.
However, immediately after the results were declared and journalists published the topper’s photos and videos, several trolls shamed the student for not covering her head with a hijab.
“Bitter trolls started appearing on social media. I could not understand why the same society trolled me on the one hand and felt proud of me on the other”, the student said.
While the majority of the trolls cursed the girl and her family for the absence of hijab, some even went to the extent of death threats.
“Begairat… Pardah nai Kia … Eski gardan Katt do (She is shameless. She has not covered herself, she should be beheaded)”, said one Twitter user.
Many of them also tried to establish a link between the Kashmiri topper and the Karnataka students fighting for their hijab rights in the state-run schools.
While on one side, some social media users congratulated her, on the other side, some people questioned the topper’s dress code and family beliefs.
Meanwhile, speaking to Kashmir Observer, Parvaiz said: “I know amid all the darkness, there’s still a silver lining. And that’s the outpour of support I received. I’m happy that there’re people celebrating my humble feat out there.”
Local Islamic scholars condemned the online fatwas. Mufti Azmatullah of Darul Uloom Rahimia in Bandipora district told a local newspaper, “Islam does not permit trolling or issuing fatwas on social media. Islam does not allow anyone to give violent lessons”.
Local psychologists, sociologists and opinion makers have condemned the trolling of Parvaiz based on just one of her photographs that appeared in her success story.
“I am shocked to see our once tolerant, eclectic, sympathetic society turn so bitter and violence driven. Perhaps this is the cost you pay when gun becomes the easiest tool to force your views on others”, said a local sociologist.
With inputs from agencies
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