Kazakh Lawmakers Want To Reverse Hijab School Ban

A group of Kazakh parliament members is urging Education Minister Zhanseit Tuymebaev to reverse a ban on Islamic head scarves among high-school and university students, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

Lawmaker Rozakul Khalmuradov, told a session of parliament that the Education and Science Ministry had ordered all schools and universities to ban hijabs and other religious clothing on October 26, before Tuymebaev headed the ministry.

Rozakulov called the ban unconstitutional because it restricts religious freedom.

An increasing number of students and young teachers who wear hijabs at schools in Kazakhstan complain that they are being urged to shed the head scarves.

Human rights activists have said that such pressure violates students' rights.