The Kazakhstan government has banned wearing the hijab headscarf in educational institutions, Deutsche Welle (DW) has reported.
“Requirements for the school uniform prohibit the wearing of the hijab, since any attribute, symbol, element in one way or another implies propaganda of the dogma to which they relate. Ensuring the equality of all religions before the law, the principles of secularism do not allow the advantage of any religion,” reads the statement on the “For citizens” section of the Kazakh government’s website, dated October 16.
It has also banned the hijab for school teachers. However, it emphasises that the ban does not apply outside of schools.
Notably, almost 70% of Kazakhstan’s population is Muslim.
As per the report, several Muslim girls are burning their exercise books and demanding the right to wear Islamic clothing. They stress that they “would not trade their hijab for anything.
Kazakh Education Minister Gani Beisembayev said that in the Atyrau region alone, 150 girls have dropped out of school since the beginning of September because of the ban. And in the Turkestan region, two men reportedly beat a local school director because she refused to allow girls wearing hijabs to attend classes.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Mufti of Kazakhstan, Nauryzbay Kazhy Taganuly, said that girls who want to wear a hijab should be taught in a madrasa, or Muslim educational institution, from the 10th grade onward.
“Such a possibility exists. Religious and secular subjects are taught there in accordance with the Ministry of Education’s standard for higher education,” the Grand Mufti said.
