Thursday March 28th, 2024
Download SceneNow app
Copied

Egyptian Foundation Launches Campaign to End Forced Hijabs in Schools

New Women’s Foundation has petitioned the Ministry of Education to protect girls from being forced to wear the headscarf in all of Egypt's schools.

Staff Writer

Egyptian women’s rights organisation New Women Foundation launched the “no to imposing the veil on girls” campaign last week, which inspired the Deputy Minister of Sharqiya to reiterate that the headscarf is a personal choice and not an obligation in all schools in his governorate.

The campaign was launched by Lamya Lotfey after her daughter was physically punished for refusing to wear the veil at her Sharqiya middle school. Immediately after this incident both Lotfey and her husband filed an urgent complaint to the educational directorate. Promptly investigating the matter, the Deputy Education Minister explained that this decision was made by headmistress of that particular school who made headscarves mandatory, believing that it would prevent girls from being harassed. 

However, according to Lotfey “this is a part of the harassment cycle,” and in order to curb harassment boys should be taught to respect girls as their peers. Doing his part, the Sharqiya Deputy Minister sent a letter to all schools in his area that hijab is not mandatory – a decision that Lotfey hopes will spread nationwide, even though Education Ministry Spokesman Hany Kamal made it clear last August that there is no law in Egypt that regulates dress code or bans hijabs.