The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information asked the Ministry of Education to launch investigations into an Alexandria school director accused of refusing to award academic honors to a top student because she did not wear the hijab.
A similar incident occurred at a school in Luxor in October 2012, the network said in a statement issued Thursday. In that case, a teacher cut the hair of her third-grade student as punishment for not wearing the hijab.
The statement criticized the new Constitution for failing to include an article directly banning religious and other forms of discrimination. The Alexandria school director’s action was a form of discrimination reflecting her religious beliefs, the statement alleged.
The network added that the incident was a violation of the student’s rights, and a dangerous indication of the religious discrimination increasingly practiced in schools, and the oppression of basic freedoms.
The organization called for the Education Ministry to take steps to stem this growing trend, and for the Constitution to be amended to address discrimination.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
