Date: 4 September 2009
Source: Human Rights Watch
Since the school year opened in August, schools in Gaza have been turning away female students for not wearing a headscarf or jilbab (a long traditional gown), on the basis of new orders from Hamas which appear to have no legal basis. One female student was slapped in front of her schoolmates for not wearing the jilbab. Previously, female students had to wear a long denim skirt and shirt. In July 2009, Hamas initiated a "virtue" campaign, saying they were concerned about increasing "immoral" behaviour in Gaza. Hamas police have been questioning women to determine whether the men they are socialising with in public are close relatives. Hamas police beat up three young men for swimming without shirts. Hamas has now shifted focus to schoolgirls. These rules are inconsistent with Palestine Basic Law which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and expression, and also with international human rights standards, which Hamas has repeatedly committed itself to. Human Rights Watch believes Hamas authorities in Gaza should suspend all orders that violate personal freedoms, including imposition of their Islamic dress code for schoolgirls.
