Hijabs are once again bothering Uzbek officials. It’s clear from social media chatter that the hijab – a head covering worn by some Muslim women – in educational institutions in Uzbekistan is again a topic of debate. Education officials seem unable to move beyond the issue of staff and student attire, when they should be obsessing over the quality of education in Uzbek schools. It seems that the debate about hijabs spikes as each school year begins and ends.
According to a report in early July of this year, in a meeting in Tashkent under the leadership of officials from the Ministry of Preschool and School Education there was discussion on removing hijabs from teachers and students in the upcoming school year and expelling those who do not agree to uncover
A group of school teachers in Jizzakh and Syrdarya regions complained to ACARO, the Association of Central Asia in Uzbekistan, about problems related to the prohibition of wearing hijab during work hours and pressure by school management.
According to the teachers, before the end of the school year, teachers and students wearing hijab were not allowed to enter the school or were subjected to pressure to remove their scarves. According to the instructions of the heads of public education of the district, school principals forced teachers who have been wearing hijab for several years to take off their headscarves. Teachers were threatened with dismissal if they did not comply. In particular, this situation escalated in schools in Pakhtakor district, as a result of which many students in hijab refused to go to school without a headscarf and did not attend school for a long time.
According to the affected teachers from Jizzakh, they regularly wore headscarves and came to work in long black-and-white school uniforms during the school year, as recommended by the school administration. However, the district education department did not agree with this and pressured them to remove their hijabs. The teachers say that the same thing happened with the schoolgirls.
In Syrdarya district, new academic year uniforms and hijab removal campaigns have started, said a school teacher who complained to us. “I have loans from the bank and family expenses. I have to work, but the principal wants me to take off my hijab so I can go back to work,” she said “Is this a valid requirement? How correct is it that they control my headscarf and not my professional knowledge and pedagogical skills?”
This situation is happening not only in secondary schools, but also in higher education institutions in Uzbekistan. According to a source who contacted us, female students wearing hijab studying at the Nizamiy Tashkent State Pedagogical University were severely harassed by the university administration in the spring of 2024 because of their religious dress.
Also, in the autumn of last year, the management of the Chirchik State Pedagogical University discriminated against Karomat Muqimova, a third-year student with disabilities, by not placing her in a university dormitory. 28-year-old Muqimova, blind from birth, was also ordered to remove her hijab.
According to another group of complainants, some state organizations rely on Article 14 of the old version of the Law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations to remove the hijab of female employees. According to the old law, citizens of Uzbekistan (except those who work in religious organizations) are not allowed to walk in public places in prayer clothes. This norm restricts the movement of citizens in clothing considered religious in public places.
However, a new version of the law was adopted on June 26, 2021, and the article prohibiting movement in public places in prayer clothes was removed. Nevertheless, it seems that some officials continue to refer to the old law to justify their demands. The concept of “prayer clothes” is not clearly defined in Uzbek legislation, nor in Islam. According to religious scholars, the hijab is not simply prayer clothes but a part of a woman’s everyday religious practice.
Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan states that citizens are guaranteed the freedom of conscience. Everyone has the right to believe in any religion or not to believe in any religion. Forced indoctrination of religious beliefs is not allowed, so why is the removal of headscarves, which many Muslim women view as part of their religious beliefs, acceptable?
The prohibition of discrimination and restriction of rights on religious grounds is strictly defined in other legal documents in Uzbekistan. More precisely, since there is no legal basis for banning the hijab in public organizations, it means that managers have no right to impose extra-legal requirements on employees that they must uncover.
Banning the wearing of hijab in public or private organizations violates a person’s right to freedom of belief and is an act contrary to existing constitutional principles in this regard.