KP chief minister retracts notification declaring burka mandatory for schoolgirls

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Mahmood Khan retracted an earlier notification that declared that covering up was mandatory for schoolgirls to avoid potential harassment incidents.

Khan, the KP CM, asked the education ministry to rescind the notification, saying that the education officer issued the order without taking prior permission from the provincial government.

Speaking to Geo News, KP's education secretary, Arshad Khan, said the provincial government would will retract the notification early on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Peshawar's district administration had ordered "all the students to use Gown/Abaya or Chadar to veil/conceal/cover up their selves".

In the notification issued Peshawar District Officer Samina Ghani, schoolgirls were asked to cover up themselves "in order to protect them from any unethical incident".

Addressed to heads of schools, the notification stated that the matter "may be treated as most urgent and important".

The KP's adviser on education, Ziaullah Bangash, said the female students were harassed on the way to school.

In light of these events and to ensure safety of the students, observing purdah (veil) or covering up was declared mandatory, he added.

Last week, Bahria University had ordered teachers to ensure that male and female students sit separately in classes, directed varsity authorities to arrange separate leisure visits for male and female students, and advised professors to discourage the formation of groups for academic work with both male and female members.

The bizarre notification had not ended there but also directed the university administration to minimise the movement of students from one building to another in the university.

Prior to that, the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Lahore on September 9 had ordered its administration to make sure the sitting arrangements for male and female students were separate.

"Vice Chancellor has ordered that separate sitting arrangements with suitable partition be made for male and female students with immediate effect," a notification issued by the UET Lahore had read.

Read more:

UET Lahore orders gender segregation at university cafeteria, sparking uproar

UET Lahore's decision to 'separate sitting arrangements with suitable partition be made for male and female students' caused an uproar

Bahria University orders gender segregation in classrooms, group projects

Bahria University also wants students not to have breaks between classes