31.10.2025 13:21
A controversial decision has emerged in the ongoing legal process regarding the headscarf ban in schools in Kosovo. The Kosovo Supreme Court upheld the decision that prohibits wearing headscarves in the dress code regulations.
The Kosovo Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, which banned the wearing of headscarves in its dress code, by rejecting the lawsuit filed against this decision.
According to Telegrafi's report, the Women’s Professional Development Network (Arrita) filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MASHTI), claiming that the ban on headscarves in public educational institutions was unfounded, and the court ruled to reject the appeal regarding this matter.
STUDENTS WEARING HEADSCARVES WERE EXCLUDED FROM SCHOOL
In response to complaints from high school students, Arrita had approached the Kosovo Supreme Court to request the annulment of the enforcement. The lawsuit stated that numerous female students had been excluded from their schools or prevented from attending school due to wearing headscarves over the past four years.
SUPREME COURT REJECTED THE APPEAL
Regarding the application in question, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Ministry has the authority to determine the dress code for students and announced that a rejection decision was made regarding the appeal. The justification for the decision emphasized that the Ministry has clear legal authority to establish rules concerning students' behavior and attire based on the Pre-University Education Law and the Vocational Education and Training Law.
BACKGROUND OF THE INCIDENT
The exclusion of students wearing headscarves from educational institutions has been considered one of the controversial issues in Kosovo, where 92% of the population is Muslim, since 2010.
Particularly, with the administrative instructions in 2010 and 2014, the wearing of headscarves in public was brought to the agenda under the name of the "religious uniform" ban and was implemented.
The Kosovo Islamic Union, at that time, objected to the ban, arguing that the headscarf is not a "religious uniform" and emphasized that wearing a headscarf is a religious obligation.