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Chechen leader signs law allowing schoolgirls to wear headscarfs

Chechnya's legislature endorsed the amendments on March 30 that permit school students to wear the clothes or symbols reflecting their religious views, including headscarfs

© Elena Afonina / TASS

GROZNY, April 4. /TASS/. Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of the Chechen Republic on Tuesday signed into law a bill of amendments to the law 'On Education in the Chechen Republic' that empowers general schools to set requirements for the type of clothes to be warn by students, the press service of the regional legislative assembly said.

The law underlines the students' right to wearing the clothes and/or symbols standing in line with their folk traditions or religious beliefs unless this runs counter to federal legislation or is hazardous to their health or encroaches on freedoms and rights of other individuals.

"An educational institution will be expected to endorse appropriate local ancillary regulations that should take account of opinions of the council of students, the council of parents and the representative board of teachers (if it has one) in order to facilitate observance of the rights of citizens to freedom of consciousnes and freedom of religion," the press release said.

Chechnya's legislature endorsed the amendments on March 30 that permit school students to wear the clothes or symbols reflecting their religious views, including headscarfs.

Federal Minister of Education Olga Vassilyeva said in January the students should not emphasize their religious beliefs through clothes. Ramzan Kadyrov answered her in social networks, saying she was trying to impose her personal opinion on others.

He also said then someone was fanning the problem of headscarfs in an unnatural way just to divert public attention from real problems at general schools. '

Kadyrov also said his own daughters who were school sdutends were wearing traditional Moslem headscarfs.

The legislature said in a commentary on the amendments the regulations they envision do not run counter to Russia's federal legislation in any way.

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