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Uzbekistan Prohibits Schoolgirls from Wearing Headscarves
From KhilafahUzbekistan has intensified its crackdown on Islamic dress as part of an ongoing campaign against what it terms "radicalism". A government-run council on Sunday decided to ban Muslim headscarves in a school in Uzbekistanâs Ferghana Valley - the countryâs religious heartland. The Uzbek constitution already bans the wearing of religious dress for those working in the public sector. Gulnora Salokhiddinova, a 14-year-old girl from the village of Margilan, was sent home from her school for wearing a hijab â but only after all students were gathered at a general assembly to witness her being publicly criticised. Gulnoraâs grandfather, Sadriddin Salokhiddinov, stated that the family interprets such criticism as an assault on the right to be able to practice religion. "There is no law prohibiting Muslim scarves!" said Salokhiddinov. "No such law! If parliament issues such a law, then OK, we would admit our fault." Her father could not be contacted as he is one among the hundreds arrested as a suspected member of the Islamic radical group Hizb al-Tahrir following two bomb attacks last March. But Shoazim Minovarov - chairman of the Cabinet of Ministerâs Committe on Religious Affairs - stated that the schoolâs decision to "persecute" people for wearing headscarves was unlawful. However, School Headmaster Zafar Amirov believes that forbidding the scarf is his duty as a teacher. "Students at school must wear a uniform," said Amirov, who asserted that he had not received orders "from higher up" to ban the scarf. "We must gradually reform this girl." Gulnora said that the schoolâs staff and students would only express support for her decision to wear the headscarf in private. "Many students and even teachers told me âwe would love to wear Muslim scarves...but we are scaredâ," she said. And there is good cause to be scared. In Bukhara, for instance, Nazira Ismailova - the chairperson of local council number eight - keeps a special file called Dangerous Groups. Dangerous groups include families that have relatives working abroad or children under the age of 18 whose "immature minds" could be influenced by Islamist extremists. .... Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-06-22 |
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