A chemical leak as a result of the accident was contained, authorities said
world6 days ago
A school on Indonesia's main island has partially shaved the heads of more than a dozen girls, its headmaster said Monday, after they were accused of wearing their Islamic hijab headscarves incorrectly.
Activists say Muslim and non-Muslim girls have been forced for years to wear a hijab in conservative parts of the archipelago nation of 270 million people, which moved in 2021 to ban schools from such mandatory dress codes.
An unidentified teacher at state-owned junior high school SMPN 1 in the East Java town of Lamongan partially shaved the hair of 14 Muslim girls last Wednesday, headmaster Harto said.
Harto said the school had apologised and the teacher had been suspended.
He said the schoolgirls did not wear inner caps under their headscarves, leaving their fringes visible.
"There is no obligation for female students to wear hijab, but they were advised to wear the inner caps for neat appearance," Harto told AFP.
"We apologised to the parents and after mediation, we reached a common understanding."
The school has promised it would provide students with psychological assistance.
"We realised that we had to resolve it carefully not to bring prolonged effects to the children," he said.
Rights groups called for the teacher to be sacked.
"The Lamongan case is probably the most intimidating ever in Indonesia," Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
"No teachers who have cut their students' hair have ever been sanctioned. The education office in Lamongan should sanction this teacher, at least removing her from the school and assign psychologists to deal with the trauma among the victims."
The group said in a 2021 report that some schoolgirls have had their hijabs cut if not worn correctly, while others have had marks penalised or faced expulsion for not wearing hijabs.
The headscarf issue grabbed headlines in 2021 after a Christian student in West Sumatra was pressured to wear a hijab in a case officials described as the "tip of the iceberg".
The government issued a decree in early 2021 to allow girls and women in state schools to choose what they can wear, banning schools from prescribing religious attire.
The country's Supreme Court struck down that decision months later, ruling children under 18 had no right to choose their own school clothes.
ALSO READ:
A chemical leak as a result of the accident was contained, authorities said
world6 days ago
The Republican nominee falsely said at the September 10 debate with Democrat Kamala Harris that the Central Park Five had killed a person and pleaded guilty
world6 days ago
The decision to bar Israeli firms is the latest incident in a row fuelled by the Macron government's unease over Israel's conduct in the wars in Gaza and Lebanon
world1 week ago
The strike began September 13 in a dispute over pay and other compensation issues
world1 week ago
India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for nearly half of the 1.1 billion poor people
world1 week ago
The action targets three individuals linked to Hezbollah's finance arm and four Lebanon-based firms, according to Treasury Department statement
world1 week ago
South Africa also made it to the last four from Group B while England were eliminated from the competition
world1 week ago
The secretaries' letter outlined specific steps Israel must take within 30 days, including enabling a minimum of 350 trucks to enter Gaza per day, and instituting pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery
world1 week ago