The protagonist of the controversy is the Sman 1 institute of the Bantul district. Three teachers (with the support of the director) imposed the use of the hijab, which provoked a harsh response from the students. Support of associations that work in favor of the rights and protection of children. The governor of the special region has suspended the school principal and teachers, pending the completion of the investigation.
Jakarta () – In Indonesia, protests are growing against the measure adopted by those responsible for a school in Bantul, in the Yogyakarta district: the mandatory wearing of the veil (hijab). An imposition that fuels identity politics linked to the Islamic faith, to the detriment of individual freedoms. The case focuses on the state institute “Sman 1”, for a controversy that ceased to be a local issue to spread throughout the archipelago, sparking condemnation from activists and human rights associations.
Budhi Masturi, head of the Yogyakarta Department of Public Administration, reports that “three teachers at the school asked the female students to wear the hijab.” The director and the authorities of the institute tried to cover up the case, but the students who oppose the measure plan to move to other centers due to the psychological repercussions of the controversy.
The case also raises concern in several associations working in the field of education and child protection, such as the Yogyakarta Education Care Alliance and the Indonesian Children Protection Commission (KPAI). The mother of a student published an open letter in which she rejects the school’s accusations that her daughter’s traumas were related to family problems, and not to the compulsory veil. “My daughter is fighting to defend her civil rights,” explains Herprastyanti Ayuningtyas, “and the principle [de rechazar la obligación de usar el velo]”. On July 26, the woman recalls, “he called me without saying anything, just to cry. Afterwards, she sent me a message in which she wrote that she no longer wanted to go to school, and that she wanted to go home.”
While the protests spread, today the Yogyakarta authorities spoke about it. The governor of the special region, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, stepped in and issued a precautionary suspension order for the school principal and teachers who caused the controversy. All of them are prohibited from going to classrooms “until the investigation into the case is concluded.”
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