MANGALURU: A student who quit her undergraduate studies at University College, Hampankatta, when the hijab row broke out in 2022, has since completed her postgraduation in medical physics with a commendable CGPA of over 8.Gousiya, 24, who took a one-year break after being unable to attend her sixth-semester BSc classes, is now interning at the Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology and aims to become a radiation safety officer. She enrolled in the medical physics postgraduate programme at Mangalore University’s Mangalagangothri campus in Konaje after resuming her studies and is set to receive her degree at the March convocation.

In 2022, a controversy was triggered when Muslim students wearing hijabs were barred from attending classes in Udupi, leading to communal tensions and prompting the state govt to ban all religious attires in educational institutions. The matter later went to the Supreme Court, which issued a split verdict. Recalling the episode, Gousiya said she had completed her BSc fifth semester when the controversy erupted, and she took up the job of a schoolteacher for a year before returning to academics. “From the very beginning, my goal was to build a career in medical physics. However, I found myself at the centre of the hijab controversy and was blamed for leading others. The entire episode took a heavy mental toll on me, though it eventually made me stronger. Today, I have achieved far more academically than what I had once imagined,” she said. A resident of Kaikamba on B C Road, Gousiya said six girls from her group quit college during their fifth semester. “Four of us, including me, later secured admission at Besant Women’s College. One student discontinued her studies as her subject combination was available only at University College, while another quit the BSc course for good to take up a professional course,” she further said. None of them came from financially strong backgrounds, she added. “Those who completed their undergraduate studies are now working, while some got married.”