rights, effectively terrorizing them into a state of fear and hypervigilance. These assaults, though not exclusively aimed at Muslim women, have profoundly affected their voice and mobility. Every aspect of their lives – what they wear, who they love, what they eat, and the spaces they occupy – has come under intense scrutiny from the state, community, and even their own families, reversing hard-won rights and freedoms.60 IN NORTHEAST SRI LANKA, WHERE HINDU SUPREMACY HAS SYSTEMATICALLY MARGINALIZED MUSLIMS, IN 2022 A SCHOOL TEACHER IN THE TOWN OF TRINCOMALEE WAS BARRED FROM ENTERING HER WORKPLACE (HINDU LADIES’ COLLEGE) ON THE GROUNDS THAT SHE WORE A HIJAB. In Northeast Sri Lanka, where Hindu supremacy has systematically marginalized Muslims, in 2022 a school teacher in the town of Trincomalee was barred from entering her workplace (Hindu Ladies’ College) on the grounds that she wore a hijab.61 Local analysts pointed to the role of Hindutva fascist elements in the north and northeast of Sri Lanka.62 Additionally, a near-total burqa-ban – on the grounds of “national security” – was legalized by the Cabinet in Sri Lanka in 2021 in the wake of the April 2019 Easter bombings, where suicide bombers killed at least 253 people and injured some 500 at churches and top-end hotels across Sri Lanka.63 The ban creates an atmosphere of uncertainty for some Muslim women in Sri Lanka, especially restricting their access to public space.64 Before the 2019 bombings, there were already stereotypes surrounding the burqa and other Muslim symbolic clothing. Feminist and peace activist Shreen Abdul Saroor has pointed to incidents of Buddhist monks derogatorily referring to women wearing abayas as ‘goni bila’, a term meant to frighten children, painting Muslim women as those 60 Khan, Sabina Yasmin. “Virulent Hindutva, Vigilante State: Situating Backlash and its Implications for Women’s Rights in India.” IDS Bulletin, vol. 55, no. 1, 2024. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Virulent_Hindutva_Vigilante_State_Situating_Backlash_and_its_Implications_for_Women_s_Rights_in_India/26433808?file=48183589 61 Farook, L. (2022). Sri Lanka: Has Hindutva Racism Entered Trinco Hindu College?. Sri Lanka Guardian. http://www. srilankaguardian.org/2022/02/sri-lanka-has-hindutva-racism-entered.html 62 Ibid. 63 BBC. (2019). Sri Lanka attacks: What we know about the Easter bombings. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/ world-asia-48010697 64 Al Jazeera. (2021). Sri Lanka cabinet approves proposed ban on burqas in public. Al Jazeera. https://www. aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/28/sri-lanka-cabinet-approves-proposed-ban-on-burqas-in-public#:~:text=Sri%20Lanka’s%20 cabinet%20has%20approved,it%20would%20violate%20international%20law 27