With the beginning of the new school year in the Gaza Strip, the issue of the hijab and a dress code for secondary school students resurfaced once again.

Gaza schools have opened their doors with new measures, imposing on female students to don the veil according to Sharia, much to the dismay of students and their parents who argue that schools have turned into religious seminars instead of educational centers.

In more than 70 all-girls secondary state schools spread across the Gaza governorates, preachers and sheiks, in agreement with the school administrators, have been visiting schools every morning to preach to students the need to wear the hijab — a measure seen by many as a restriction of personal freedoms.

Saber al-Awadi, one of the preachers who is active in visiting all-girls secondary schools, told Al-Monitor, “This state of ‘open-mindedness’ that has been prevailing among female secondary school students, which is the most dangerous for young women, prompted me and a colleague to organize groups of preachers and to launch social awareness and guidance campaigns in schools to urge female students to stick to religion and avoid indecent clothing.”