DUSHANBE, July 9, Asia-Plus – A court case pitting Ms. Davlatmo Ismoilova, the third-year student taking correspondence course at Tajik National University, against the Ministry of Education (MoE) began at a court in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district on July 6. 

Davlatmo Ismoilova filed suit against a MoE over its ban on headscarves, including the hejab worn by conservative Muslim girls.

We will recall that just several days after President Emomali Rahmon in March this year ordered a ban on student’s use of cell phones an private cars, Education Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov ordered bans on both headscarves and miniskirts for university students.

Journalists who came to attend the hearing were asked to leave the courtroom by order of judge, who is taking in the trial.   

Davlatmo Ismoilova appealed to the court on May 25 asking to find the education Ministry’s order of March 31, 2007, providing for appropriate cloth, as well actions of Tajik National University administration, which prohibits her from attending lessons because she wears hejab.

The hearing was adjourned until today and this time, it will be held in the building of Tajik National University.  

Ismoilova told journalists that in April, she was not allowed to examinations, because the University’s administration has not allowed her to come to University in hejab justifying it by the mentioned order of the MoE.   

“This order of the MoE is absolutely unfounded because the RT Law “Education” does not provide for wearing any appropriate cloth for students,” Shuhrat Qudratov, Ismoilova’s defense lawyer said in an interview with journalists.  “Before issuing such order it was necessary to make amendments to the education legislation,” the lawyer said.   

According to Ismoilova and her defense lawyer, they filed suit in April already, but the Shohmansour court did not take it that time and sent them to the court of Dushanbe’s Sino district, where the University is located.  The Sino court resent them to the Shohmansour court again.  The Shohmansour district took the suit for consideration only on May 25.