Attired in a modest salwar-kameez , hijab firmly in place, Shaista Fatima leaves her home in Kolkata's Rippon Street and heads for school. Friends Farida and Shehnaz Jahan join her on the way and the three demurely make their way through the conservative Muslim neighbourhood.
But once they hit Royd Street, their gait acquires a quick confidence. Once inside Jewish Girls School, they slip off both hijab and salwarkameez and slip on the skirt-and-blouse uniform just in time for assembly.
The idea of Muslim students in a Jewish school may be blasphemous anywhere else on the planet, but here in Kolkata, it's a reality. In fact, doors to the two Jewish schools in the city were opened to other communities, including Muslims, around the same time that Israel was carved out of Palestine six decades ago, triggering a bloody conflict that still rages today.
It's a study in contrast really. Palestinian mothers let their children join the uprising or intifada against Israeli occupation even as Muslim mothers in Kolkata send their wards to schools run by Jews. The former is about death - it's an honour if the child kills a Jew and brings martyrdom if he is killed in the attempt. The latter is about the hope of a better future.
For most middle-class Muslims in Kolkata, getting their children into a good English medium school is a dream. "Either the fees are too high or kids are refused admission because the parents aren't educated enough," says M H Iqbal, whose daughters Zeb and Uzma go to the Jewish Girls School. "The two Jewish schools, on the other hand, are affordable and encourage children from humble backgrounds. For people like me, it means a decent education for my daughters that will open up a world of opportunity."
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12:12 AM
Moderate Islamist here
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