Syria-turned children remove their religious headscarves and symbols in schools

Ganimete Grbovci, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is official in reintegration of radicalised persons, has shown that some of the girls returning from war zones who had headscarves removed them before they started learning.

The moment they came here, we explained to them why they should remove their headscarves because of not being stigmatized, so that other children don't play with them. We have tried to advise them in the best way possible, for their future and have accepted it as such and removed the headscarves”, Grbovci said.

Of the statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs provided by Radio Free Europe, there are 22 children between the ages of 6 and 13 who will continue teaching in schools. Of them 11 are girls and 11 boys, while two other girls are older.

Once these students have lost several years of regular schooling, their age is out of harmony with the following classes.

A 16-year-old girl will continue in the 5th grade, while another 18-year-old will continue the 8th grade.

Ms. Grbovci explains that the only case of exemption for wearing the headscarf has been made precisely in the 18-year-old girl.

There is no thought of what he will do. She may be able to remove it, she has the headscarf, but she has 18 years and has the right to decide for herself. We only got that girl, the others took off her headscarves. They have been smaller and they have had a task for”, Grbovci said.

In Kosovo, wearing the headscarf in schools is seen as a prohibited act with an administrative guide to the Ministry of Education issued in 2010, even though not named headscarves but religious uniforms.

Article 3, paragraph 1.13 in this administrative direction specifys that wearing religious uniform is forbidden in school.

Justice Alban Krasniqi, commenting on this administrative directive, has told Radio Free Europe that Kosovo should be very cautious when it makes such restrictions.

According to him, these restrictions must first be made by law and then, the same restrictions, should follow reasonable goals and be appropriate for a democratic society.

<x) What this directive regulates is measures that are taken, as spoken of, written, temporary suspension and such measures, but there is no permanent exception and it is not regulated what happens with these cases”, Krasniqi said.

Against wearing the headscarves in schools and introducing religious education as teaching classes in schools, Kosovo's own Assembly has been declared since 2011.

Valbona Tafilaj, a psychiatrist at the QKUK Psychiatric Clinic, also a psychiatrist-coordinator for mental health and health for Syria-turned children and women, has told Radio Free Europe that children returning from Syria have had war trauma. But after many treatments, she said, they are ready for school.

And since we're a broad team, about 20 mental health professionals engaged as child psychiatrists, child psychologists have been constantly working with sessions and treating children, who have arrived and are willing to start school. They're ready. With the appreciation of children's psychiatrists, they have resulted in being ready for the start of the<x1-> school year, Tafilaj said.

The “have been very enthusiastic, they've been very happy that the school year is beginning and they're starting a new life, they're starting a beautiful life for them. They have been very enthusiastic, very excited”, Tafilaj said.

Of the 110 citizens who returned in April this year from the Government of Kosovo, 74 of them have been children, 34 women and 4 foreign fighters.