Hamas today denied a human rights report accusing of it imposing an Islamic dress code on Gaza school girls, dpa reported. Gaza residents claimed to have received unofficial orders that secondary school girls be made to maintain an Islamic dress code in schools, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report published Friday. The Education Ministry "has not forced any new orders on the girls," said Yousef Ibrahim, the deputy education minister. He admitted that two principals prevented students not wearing "the Islamic gown from entering the schools," but said they had acted on their own. "No one should be forced to wear religious clothing, including the headscarf, to receive an education," said Nadya Khalife of HRW.
