K-P schoolgirls ordered to cover-up

Haripur DEO explained her notice as a bid to follow Islamic injunctions regarding how women should dress

PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Monday issued an edict making it mandatory for all schoolgirls in the province to wear loose clothing which covers them such as abayas (gowns) or chador.

According to a notification issued by the Advisor to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister on Education Ziaullah Bangash, the decision has been taken in light of the rising reports of harassment of girls in the province recently.

He expressed that it was good for the young female students to cover themselves so that they could travel to schools without facing any kind of difficulty.

The notification from the provincial government comes just days after a Haripur District Education Officer (DEO) had at the local level issued a similar notification. That order was followed by a similar decision from the Peshawar DEO Sameena Ghani.

Haripur DEO Samina Altaf, though, had explained her notice as a bid to follow Islamic injunctions regarding how women should dress. Ghani, meanwhile, endorsed Haripur DEO’s decision.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2019.