Teacher partially shaves 14 Muslim girls’ hair over hijab dress code in Indonesia

In Indonesia, 14 Muslim girls had their hair partially shaved after being accused of wearing their Islamic hijabs incorrectly. Activists say Muslim and non-Muslim girls have been forced to wear hijabs in conservative areas. The school apologised and suspended the teacher, while rights groups called for her to be sacked. In 2021, Indonesia recognised six major religions, but there have been concerns about religious intolerance. The headscarf issue made headlines after a Christian student was pressured to wear a hijab.

A school on Indonesia's main island has partially shaved the heads of more than a dozen girls, its headmaster said Mondaon August 28, 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, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said.

Mr. 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," Mr. Harto told AFP.

"We apologised to the parents and after mediation, we reached a common understanding."