India: PoK female students and teachers to mandatorily wear Hijab

Kashmir, INDIA: Hijab has now been made mandatory for the female students and teachers at co-educational institutions in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK), according to the latest mandate issued by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Government.

The mandate that made the Hijab compulsory for female students and teachers additionally asserted that the PTI Government would be taking strict action against the head of the institutions which fail to comply with the latest orders from the government.

The decision of the PTI Government has drawn criticism from the local journalist community. Journalist Mariana Baabar also criticized the decision of the Sardar Tanveer-led PTI Government, calling it to be suppression of women’s freedom and liberty, further stressing women’s right to choose whatever she wants to do or wear. Additionally, she urged the government to “Stop Dictating to women and men” in her tweet.

Meanwhile, Murtaza Solangi, a journalist from The Friday Times, compared the decision of the PTI government with the Taliban, who made wearing a Hijab in public compulsory for females in Afghanistan. Solangi further went on to call the Pakistani President Arif Alvi to be “A Toothless Dentist”, for being a puppet of the fascist party, who, according to Solangi, have been gradually enforcing the Talibani policies in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

At the same time, the reports from Pakistan’s vernacular publication ‘Siasat’ reported the suffering of the families who have been suffering after the closure of crushing machines and development projects in several parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK), including Muzaffarabad.

The sanctions from the environmental and mineral resource departments have caused and elevated rate of unemployment and distress in families.