Atyrau Oblast governor against black hijabs

By Laura Suleimenova

At a recent meeting of Public Youth Council, the governor of Atyrau Oblast Baktykozha Izmukhambetov voiced his straight-out opinion about Kazakh girls that wear black burka.

Highlighting positive steps made after inviting prominent theologists to the province, he quite emotionally expressed his view on girls wrapped in black clothing from top to toe.

"They look like mourning for somebody. What is that they want to demonstrate? They have no knowledge and education to their names. What is their future? This also applies to men who grow beards and shorten trousers," the head of province said.

"To critics they say "is it better when girls wear open clothes?". We should not lurch from one extreme to the other, we should do it the way civilized societies do," he stated.