EurasiaNet Eurasia Insight - Tajikistan: Schoolgirls Appeal To Islamic Party Over Headscarf Ban

EURASIA INSIGHT

TAJIKISTAN: SCHOOLGIRLS APPEAL TO ISLAMIC PARTY OVER HEADSCARF BAN
9/13/07
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from BBC Monitoring

Print this article Email this article

Text of report by Tajik news agency Asia-Plus website

Khujand, 12 September: Seven schoolgirls from [northern Tajik] Sughd Region’s Khujand and Bobojon Ghafurov districts have appealed to the regional branch of the [opposition] Islamic Rebirth Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) to help them to continue their studies at schools.

The schoolgirls noted that the heads of schools were not allowing them to attend classes wearing national headscarf, Hafiza Sodiqova, head of the IRPT regional branch’s department for working with women, has told Asia-Plus.

"The schoolgirls from the first to ninth grades have said that there were cases when a school director tears off the schoolgirls’ headscarves in front of everyone and insults them," she said.

At the same time, Saidmuxtor Jalolov, head of the regional education directorate, told Asia-Plus that attending school wearing national headscarf was not prohibited, as the school uniform also allows schoolgirls to wear national clothing. The headscarf is also an attribute of national clothing.

Editor�s Note: Source: Asia-Plus news agency website, Dushanbe, in Russian 12 Sep 07

The Central Eurasia Project aims, through its website, meetings, papers, and grants, to foster a more informed debate about the social, political and economic developments of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is a program of the Open Society Institute-New York. The Open Society Institute-New York is a private operating and grantmaking foundation that promotes the development of open societies around the world by supporting educational, social, and legal reform, and by encouraging alternative approaches to complex and controversial issues.

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the position of the Open Society Institute and are the sole responsibility of the author or authors.