In Kazakhstan, a group of parents of pupils practising Islam demand that the authorities stop prohibiting wearing headscarf to girls in schools. This year, the activists suggested a compromise – to allow girls wear white hoods instead of headscarfs.
Officially, the authorities did not approve this idea, although in some educational institutions, according to parents, principals tacitly agreed. However, the conflict is far from resolution.
The question of wearing headscarfs by pupils has been important for over five years in Kazakhstan. Religious parents become angry once the school year begins, especially in southern regions of the country. Often the authorities are categorical about the issue: if you want to study, take off your headscarfs. Usually, officials refer to article 13 of the order of Ministry of Education and Science on approval of requirements to mandatory school uniforms for secondary-level educational institutions. It says that “inclusion of religious attributes of various religions into school uniform is not allowed”.
Early this academic year, the initiative group of parents opened hotline on WhatsApp messenger and received dozens of messages that principals do not permit girls to study because of their refusal to take off a headscarf.
“As-salamu alaykum, I don’t have a video, but my daughter is not allowed into school. She has attended school wearing a bonnet (a bonnet is a hijab cap – Editor’s note) and a hood. The principal together with teachers have always ousted her from classes and insisted that she take off both the hood and the bonnet!!! Today they called me and said they would not let her in if she comes as usual!!!” one of the parents wrote in the chat of parents supporting wearing headscarfs in schools (the author’s style and spelling was retained).
Pupils’ parents abstain from open interviews fearing prosecution by authorities, as well as pressure on children. The initiative group has identified 70 schools in the republic where the administration, according to them, does not allow wearing headscarfs during classes, so the girls have to stay at home.
Activists conveyed this information to the Ministry of Education on September 30. According to the participant of the initiative group Olzhas Bilyalov, the number of facts of no access to school has increased since then.
“We recently suspended out hotline as it is difficult to operate it on a continuing basis. The list of facts when pupils were not allowed to attend classes increased from 70 to 264. We recorded contacts of complainants, school numbers, full information. The initiative group needed the statistical data to demonstrate the scope of the problem,” Olzhas Bilyalov said.
Headscarf as a (non)religious attribute
According to the initiative group, parents who can afford paying for online study educate their children in Russian online schools. Most of the girls still take off their headscarfs at school entrance and take them on after classes.
According to the Ministry of Education, wearing a headscarf contradicts the existing Kazakh laws.
“Wearing a headscarf in secondary educational institutions contradicts the existing laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan (art.1, 3, 39, Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, para. 3, 6, 7, art. 49, law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On education”). Parents, whose children breach school uniform policy, according to the Administrative Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, have to pay a fine at the rate of 20 monthly calculation indicators (132.5 dollars),” said Yesengazy Imangaliev, chair of the board for children’s rights protection of the Ministry of Education, on August 3 in response to the request of a representative of the initiative group.
According to activists, the authorities by such prohibitions breach the first, third and ninth articles of the International Convention against Discrimination in Education, which was ratified by Kazakhstan in 2016. Moreover, the initiative group tells of restricted religious rights and the right to free secondary education. They believe that a hheadscarf should not be deemed as a religious attribute prohibited in schools, and demand that pupils not be restricted to wear headscarfs.
“There is an international experience of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, where they have no problem with wearing headscarfs in schools. […] We [Kazakhstan] need to meet our obligations under international conventions,” said Zhaslan Aitmaganbetov, human rights defender, participant of the initiative group, at the meeting with representatives of state agencies and commissioner for human rights Elvira Azimova on September 30.
Officially, number of girls wearing headscarfs is decreasing
According to the Ministry of Education, the number of girls wearing headscarfs is constantly decreasing. According to the official reply to the message of the initiative group participant, only 2,093 facts of girls wearing headscarfs were registered in 2017-2018. In 2021-2022, 173 schoolgirls attended schools in headscarfs. But the problem is that the methods of decreasing the statistical data are not acceptable for all.
On October 3, the regional outlet Pavlodarnews.kz published the news item containing the comment of Daulet Zakaryanov, head of the office for religious affairs of Pavlodar region, about wearing headscarfs in schools. According to the outlet, in school No. 30 of Pavlodar parents said that they refused to meet the school uniform requirements and stood for wearing “religious clothing.”
“Daulet Zakaryanov expressed hope that a compromise could be reached with parents. Otherwise, administrative measures can be applied to them, including deprivation of parental rights,” pavlodarnews.kz wrote.
Activist Olzhas Bilyalov said that after meetings of the initiative group with city officials parents of schoolgirls from various regions of the country complained about “unpleasant talks”.
“While parents and officials are reaching the unified solution to the problem, while our proposals are being discussed, we want them to let our children study. We don’t need anything more. […]. It’s unacceptable when parents are called to akimats and threatened by deprivation of parental rights,” Bilyalov said.
Parents of schoolchildren suggest the option of online study in Kazakhstan for all those who want it because salah praying, which is very important for teenagers practising Islam, is prohibited in schools. The ministry of education does not approve of the online study so far.