MOSCOW, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he opposes the Muslim practice of wearing headscarves, or hijabs, in Russian schools.
"Why should we adopt outside tradition?" he asked reporters Thursday.
A test case of the policy on headscarves came in October when Muslim parents in the Stavropol region objected to prosecutors about a school ban on hijabs at their daughter's school. The parents said the ban violated her constitutional rights to receive and education and practice her religion, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported Thursday.
Although Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov had previously stated wearing the symbol of Muslim faith did not violate Russian education policy, Stavropol Gov. Valery Zerenkov ordered a ban on headscarves Tuesday, the newspaper Rossiikaya Gazeta said.
