Debate on intolerance after student made to wear hijab in Indonesia

A recent incident in which a Muslim student in Indonesia was allegedly forced to wear a hijab by her teachers, which led to her depression, has again highlighted intolerance in the country and a breach of autonomy.

In mid-July, the first-year senior high student in a public school in Bantul, Yogyakarta, was summoned by three teachers for not wearing the Muslim headscarf, or hijab, after which she was found crying in the toilet.

During her school orientation earlier, the 15-year-old was bullied by her teachers, who accused her parents of not observing daily prayers, said Ms Yuliani Putri Sunardi, the coordinator of Sarang Lidi, a non-governmental organisation.

"For days she locked herself in her room and did not want to communicate with her family. She also did not want to eat," Ms Yuliani, who has been advising the student after her father contacted the organisation, told The Straits Times.

The student is undergoing therapy with a psychologist from the Yogyakarta chapter of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission Indonesian (KPAI), and her condition has improved.

"We are trying to find her another school," Ms Yuliani said.

The school's principal and three teachers have been suspended amid an ongoing investigation.

The principal, Mr Agung Istiyanto, said the teachers only gave the student a tutorial on hijab use.

"We don't require the use of a headscarf," Tempo quoted him as saying. "The accusation is wrong."

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, has seen incidents in which public schools require female students, including non-Muslims, to don a hijab.

There was an uproar last year after a female non-Muslim student in a public high school in Padang, West Sumatra, refused to wear a hijab during a virtual school session.

The Indonesian government then issued a joint ministerial decree banning schools from forcing students or faculty members to don a Muslim headscarf or any other religious attribute.

This was later revoked by the Supreme Court, which said the decree contravened prevailing laws.

In 2014, the Ministry of Education stipulated that schools cannot rule or advise students to wear uniforms that mark certain religious identities, nor ban students from wearing religious clothing.

Human Rights Watch says at least 24 of Indonesia's 34 provinces apply hijab rules in public schools and state institutions.

KPAI urged the Yogyakarta government to implement a gubernatorial decree on inclusive education, where no discrimination based on all grounds, including religion, is practised, so that schools serve as "a miniature of the society".

Mr Budhi Masturi, head of Yogyakarta's representative office of the Indonesian Ombudsman, which is investigating the case, said that his office found a document containing visual guidelines on dressing for female students.

"In it there's no choice for not wearing a dress without a religious identity. From Monday to Friday, female students must wear religious clothing," he said.

Mr Didik Wardaya, chief of the Yogyakarta education, youth and sports agency, which is also probing the case, said: "Basically public schools or those run by the regional government must reflect diversity and cannot force someone to wear a uniform with a certain religious identity."

He added that the teachers involved in the case might be punished if they were found to have forced the student to wear a hijab.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 08, 2022, with the headline Debate on intolerance after student made to wear hijab in Indonesia. Subscribe