Counter-Petition Launched against Request to Lift Ban on Religious Dress in Kosovo Schools

An online petition against the wearing of headscarves by Muslim girls in schools has been initiated in Kosovo, following an earlier petition calling for girls who wear a headscarf to be allowed to attend public schools was closed by organisers on Saturday over claims that their campaign had caught the attention of decision-makers.

The petition, "Stop the wearing of headscarves in schools in Kosovo", has received around 1,500 signatures in two days.

On Saturday, the organiser of the campaign "Ndryshojeni Udhezimin Administrativ per shamine" (Change the Administrative Instruction on the Headscarf), the legal expert Durim Berisha, announced he was ending his campaign after the online petition "for 48 hours received over 20,000 signatures, of which 45 per cent were from women".

The campaign of Berisha, originally from Kosovo but currently based in Dusseldorf, Germany, targets an article in the code of conduct and disciplinary measures for Kosovo high schools. "Students are not allowed… to wear religious dress," the article reads.

According to Berisha, the campaign attracted many "Islamophobes", but also the attention of decision makers including Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the Education Ministry, which he claimed on his Facebook page had pledged to change the administrative instruction by the start of the school year in September.

"We assure you that, in the event the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation does not fulfil the legal obligation, as it has promised to do, we will use the legal means in force to ensure legality," Berisha wrote, adding that, "Starting today, we ask you to stop commenting on the posts of public office holders."

The issue over the school dress code has attracted a lot of...