Plenipotentiary's office to check legality of ban on hijabs at Pyatigorsk University

The office of the Russian President's Plenipotentiary in the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) will check the legality of the decision to ban hijabs at Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the Stavropol Territory the Academic Board of the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University (PSLU) prohibited its students and teachers to enter the university premises in hijabs, with piercing or bare stomachs.

Later, the rector of the PSLU Alexander Gorbunov said that the decision of the Academic Board on the "corporate culture", which also dealt with the religious clothes, was not prohibitive but advisory in its nature. "Female students wearing headscarves (hijabs) have never been and are not prohibited from visiting the university," the "Echo Moskvy" Radio quotes Mr Gorbunov as saying.

According to Ibragim Ibragimov, director of the Centre for Studying Islam and Islamic Culture of the PSLU, the point is about the recommendation not to allow girls with fully veiled faces to the university. "There are norms, according to which students get into the building by their student's IDs; therefore, it's difficult to identify a girl with a fully veiled face; especially that the Koran says that everything should be covered but the face," the RIA "Novosti" quotes Mr Ibragimov.

The Office of the Plenipotentiary Alexander Khloponin reacted to the ban on hijabs at the PSLU by a statement that the issue would be thoroughly studied. "We are now studying the decision, mainly, for its compliance with the legislation," the portal "Yuga.ru" quoted Mikhail Markelov, head of the Department of Internal Policy of the Office.

Ismail Berdiev, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Karachay-Cherkessia and Stavropol Territory and the head of the Coordination Centre of Muslims of Northern Caucasus, said in his comment on the decision of the Academic Board of the PSLU that it is impossible to forbid the headscarf, which is traditional for Caucasian women, since it is a violation of the rights of Muslim women. However, he spoke against the women's clothes, which completely hide the face.

"This type of clothes is typical for natives of Arab countries and is not traditional for the nations of Northern Caucasus," the RIA "Novosti" quotes Mr Berdiev.