A video of a young girl from Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar advocating for purdah at her school’s science exhibition has sparked controversy, prompting an official inquiry. In the widely shared clip, the student claims that women who wear purdah will attain Jannat (heaven), while those who do not will face punishment in the afterlife.

Her remarks have drawn scrutiny from the state’s education department. The Deputy Director of Public Instruction in Chamarajanagar has instructed the Block Education Officer to investigate the incident and submit a report.

In the viral video, the girl asserts that a woman who observes purdah is as “pure as a martyr” and that the practice does not hinder a woman’s ability to perform permissible (Halal) work but instead guides her toward Jannat. She further states that purdah ensures separation between men and women, and that a man who allows his wife to go without it is a “Dayyus”—a term implying dishonor—whose prayers, she claims, will not be accepted by Allah.

The incident has ignited a debate on religious teachings in educational spaces, with authorities now probing the circumstances under which the exhibition project was presented.