JAKARTA (INDONESIA) – Activists in Indonesia on Thursday were all praise for the government’s decision to ban public schools from making religious attire mandatory. This has become a reality after a national outcry over non-Muslim students being forced to wear a hijab.
Indonesia officially identifies six religions, with nearly 90% of the population being Muslim, however, there has been increased concerns in recent years that more conservative interpretations of Islam are propelling religious intolerance.
The government signed the decree on Wednesday on religious attire in school dress. A few weeks ago, news about a school in West Sumatra province forcing non-Muslim female students to wear a hijab was making rounds, which triggered such an action.
Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Indonesia’s religious minister, said the West Sumatra case was just the “tip of the iceberg”.
“There are no reasons to infringe upon others’ freedom in the name of religious expression,” he told a news conference on Wednesday.
The special autonomous province of Aceh, which is reinforced by sharia law, is exempt from the decree, Education Minister Nadiem Makarim said.
Beka Ulung Hapsara, a commissioner at Indonesia’s main rights body, Komnas HAM, said the decree respects people’s choice to express their beliefs.
“Places of education are a space to develop independent souls free of discrimination, where respect is fostered,” he said.
Andreas Harsono, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said schools in more than 20 provinces still have the religious attire in their dress code as a mandatory aspect, so the decree was a positive step.
“Many public schools require girls and female teachers to wear the hijab that too often prompt bullying, intimidation, social pressures, and in some cases, forced resignation,” he said.