Viral News of Forced Hijab in Bantul, UM Surabaya Lecturer Gives Response

• 02 Aug
• 2022

Ilustrasi gambar (ANTARA FOTO)

Viral News of Forced Hijab in Bantul, UM Surabaya Lecturer Gives Response

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• By Uswah Sahal
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A public high school in Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta has become a concern after a student reported that she was forced to wear the headscarf. What astonished the public was that the student reported that she was depressed as a result of this.

The debate over the headscarf in public schools is nothing new. Several years ago, a similar debate also surfaced in Yogyakarta, Banyuwangi, Jakarta, and several regions in Indonesia.

Of all the results of the debate, it always ends in the expression of an apology from the public school or the revocation of the rules (circular letter) regarding the mandatory use of the headscarf.

The busyness of the case attracted the attention of Radius Setiyawan, a lecturer at UM Surabaya, to provide a response.

According to Radius, the interesting thing to review is that there have always been attempts to make the wearing of the headscarf mandatory in an educational institution which has again generated debate.

“Public schools as an arena for meeting ethnicities, races and religions (especially in public schools) often become arenas for identity battles. Debates often arise, triggered by attempts to force the use of the headscarf on female students who feel they are not part of that identity,” explained Radius Tuesday (2/8/22)

In a written statement, Radius explained that in this context the state needs to be present, both the central and regional governments need to ensure that there is no compulsion in using certain attributes.

"The state needs to ensure this because schools are actually spaces that uphold human values," added Radius, a lecturer in Cultural Studies.

According to him, regional leaders are often helpless in dealing with this matter, what is being considered is politics which is the biggest factor. He gave an example that the efforts of regional heads to gain public sympathy for majority citizens is a populist strategy that often occurs, so it is not surprising that many regional heads are ambiguous about this policy.

At the end of his statement, Radius emphasized that schools must prioritize intellectual morality. Ensuring there is no coercion is important.

"Of course this also applies to students who want to wear the headscarf, the majority of whom do not wear the headscarf. The state must also ensure that there is no such prohibition,” concluded the UGM Alumnus of Cultural and Media Studies.