October 08, 2025

Russia to Ban Hijabs and Niqabs in Schools?


Russia to Ban Hijabs and Niqabs in Schools?
Empty classroom. The Russian Life File.

On October 3, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug banned hijabs, niqabs, and other headcoverings in all its schools. The okrug, also known as Yugra, became the second region in Russia to ban headcoverings in its educational facilities.

According to the Russian news website Ura.ru, the 303 schools in Khanty-Mansi consulted with parent councils and the public to vote on banning headcoverings, including hijabs and niqabs. Ura.ru said that the regulation had little to do with religious affiliation, since skullcaps and hats were also prohibited. The region's Department of Youth Policy told parents : "If you disagree, you can choose another form of education, such as homeschooling."

On September 3, children in the Yugra city of Nizhnevartovsk were told that "religious paraphernalia" was banned from schools. Khanty-Mansi's mufti (Islamic legal scholar) Tagir Hazrat Samatov said, "A girl can wear a headcovering on the way to school and put it back on after classes are over. If the issue is fundamental, you should choose an educational organization that allows [headcoverings]."

In October 2024, Vladimir Oblast banned the use of hijabs and niqabs. The region's Ministry of Education and Youth Policy said "the church is separated from the state, including from secular education." France's infamous headscarf and "religious paraphernalia" bans have been shown to negatively affect the education of Muslim girls, leading to increased dropout rates and harder integration into the labor market.

In May 2024, Vice-President of the State Duma Vycheslav Davankov proposed a ban on religious garments, including hijabs and niqabs. The motion received strong pushback from Dagestan and Chechnya, Muslim-majority regions in Russia. Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, publicly opposed the legislation. In June, head of Russia's Investigative Committee Alexander Batryshkin pushed for a ban on niqabs, making Islamophobic remarks by baselessly claiming that the garments were used for "terrorist attacks." Shortly after, the Dagestan and Karachayevo-Cherkesya muftis banned the niqab.

The Kremlin has publicly abstained from discussing headcovering bans.

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