Putin Against Headscarves

From Yahoo:
"Putin opposes the wearing of headscarves at school"

President Vladimir Putin spoke out Thursday against the wearing of headscarves in Russian schools in his first public comment on a potentially explosive issue. Putin's statement follows a recent incident in Russia's southern region of Stavropol during which a school principal forbade girls from Muslim families from wearing headscarves to class. Their parents protested and the principal said she was threatened. Asked to comment on the issue, Putin clearly voiced his opposition to headscarves at schools, saying that Russia is a secular state and must create equal conditions for all its citizens. "We have a secular state, and we must proceed from that," Putin said at a meeting with supporters.

Other countries also have faced debate over the issue. This month, police in Azerbaijan clashed with citizens protesting a ban on the wearing of headscarves in the mainly Muslim ex-Soviet nation's secondary schools. In Europe, France and Belgium have banned the wearing of headscarves or face-covering Islamic veils in public, as have some towns in Spain and elsewhere. An estimated 20 million of Russia's 143 million people are Muslims, and they make up the majority of the population in many regions, including the oil-rich province of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, as well as Chechnya and neighboring provinces in the volatile North Caucasus. Putin said that with Russian Orthodox believers making up a majority, any departure from secular rules in public life could eventually lead to the infringement on the rights of followers of other religions. "It would be better if all people feel equal," he added. If the dispute over headscarves escalates in Russia, it could fuel tensions between the federal government and Chechnya and other Muslim-dominated provinces. Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has imposed a tight Islamic dress code on females. Girls and women are strongly advised to wear headscarves in public. Kadyrov's feared black-clad security forces have used paintball guns, threats and insults against those failing to obey. Putin said Thursday that one possible way out of the headscarves dispute would be the introduction of school uniforms.

^ I agree that headscarves should not be worn in a secular state. I don't see Russia as a secular state though - even though it says it is in the Russian Constitution. Russia seems to be run by the Russian Orthodox Church (take the recent Pussy Riot trial) and so to fully be secular it needs to treat all reglions equally. The US is also not as secular as the motto: "Separation of Church and State" suggests. We continue to use "One nation, under God, ""In God We Trust" and "So help me God" in all aspects of our lives from the currency we use, going to school, voting and doing with Federal and State agencies like the courts. Like I stated above I have no problem with banning headscarves and other religious clothing that distracts and hides, but I also believe that countries can't be hypocrites (whether they are Russia, the US or elsewhere) and say we are secular when we aren't. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/putin-opposes-wearing-headscarves-school-172300173.html;