Tajik court upholds ban on face veil for students

DUSHANBE, July 12 (Reuters) A Tajik court upheld today a ban on wearing a Muslim headscarf inside educational institutions in the first such legal case in the Central Asian nation.

A student, Davlatmo Ismoilova, filed a lawsuit against her university and the education ministry saying the ban violated her constitutional right to religious freedom.

Tajikistan's Ministry of Education issued a directive in May prohibiting school and university students from attending classes wearing the hijab, which completely covers the hair.

''We have our own national dress, our symbols, while the hijab is propaganda for religious trends of other countries,'' Education Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov told reporters.

He advised all those keen to wear the hijab to attend religious schools instead of secular establishments.

The secular authorities of ex-Soviet Tajikistan keep a close eye on religious practices and nip in the bud any deviations from traditional ways.

Traditionally Muslim women in Tajikistan did not wear the hijab, which came into the country from Iran.

Governments in Central Asia have been criticised in the West for cracking down on dissent and religious freedom.

Regional leaders have defended themselves, saying their policies are aimed at preventing a perceived rise of Islamist militancy in the predominantly Muslim region.

''I was expecting such a decision. If I do not attain justice, I will turn down my diploma but will not take off the hijab,'' Ismoilova said after the ruling.

REUTERS AM RK2334