{"id":8689,"date":"2022-02-17T15:59:17","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T20:59:17","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:56:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:56:08","slug":"in-india-head-coverings-are-worn-by-most-women-including-roughly-six-in-ten-hindus","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2022\/02\/17\/in-india-head-coverings-are-worn-by-most-women-including-roughly-six-in-ten-hindus\/","title":{"rendered":"In India, head coverings are worn by most women, including roughly six-in-ten Hindus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Women
Women walk by town shops in Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2016. (Subhendu Sarkar\/LightRocket\/Getty Images)\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In recent weeks, protests in India over Muslim headscarves in schools<\/a> have gained international attention. The controversy began when a high school in the Southern state of Karnataka banned hijabs in classrooms, and demonstrations have since spread to other states. The Karnataka High Court has been deliberating the legality<\/a> of the school ban and is due to issue a verdict soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Head coverings are relatively common among Indian women. About six-in-ten women in India (61%) say they keep the practice of covering their heads outside of their homes, according to a Pew Research Center survey<\/a> conducted in 2019-2020. That includes a majority of Hindu<\/a> women (59%), and roughly equal shares of Muslim (89%) and Sikh women (86%) \u2013 although the exact type of head covering<\/a> can vary significantly among and within religious groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India\u2019s adult population is 81% Hindu and 13% Muslim, according to the latest census conducted in 2011. Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains account for most of the remaining 6%. The Center\u2019s survey only included adults ages 18 and older and does not show what share of school-aged girls<\/em> wear head coverings.<\/p>\n\n\n

How we did this<\/div>