The Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement Saturday rejected a rights group's accusations that it violated personal freedom by imposing religious uniform on female students.
The accusations were made by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) which said it received reports from Gaza residents about unofficial orders asking the secondary school female students to wear Islamic-style clothing at school.
Yousef Ibrahim, deputy education minister of deposed Hamas government in Gaza, said his ministry "has not imposed any new orders on the girls."
He admitted that two school principals prevented the students who did not wear the Islamic gown from entering the schools, but said "the two principals have acted without receiving orders from the ministry."
He refused to say if the ministry has investigated the matter and takes any action against the principals.
Nadya Khalife, a women's rights researcher at HRW, said, "No one should be forced to wear religious clothing, including the headscarf, to receive education."
Hamas has been controlling Gaza since it ousted Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by force in mid-2007.
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