MOSCOW- The government of Russia has relaxed the rules for citizenship applications for hijab-wearing women in a major relief for the faithful.
The authorities have now allowed the use of headscarves and hijabs in passport photographs, as stated by the Russian Interior Ministry recently; the new law would be in place from May 5th.
“In cases where the religious beliefs of the applicant do not allow them to appear in front of strangers without a head covering, photographs are to be provided in head coverings that do not hide the oval of the face,” an official document reads.
It has been clarified that images with scarves that entirely or partially conceal the applicant’s chin will not be accepted. Interestingly, Russian citizens have already been permitted to use photographs in hijabs for passport applications, driver’s licenses, work permits, and patents but the fresh relaxation would cover other nationalities also.
Commenting on the development, Biysultan Khamzaev, a member of the State Duma Security and Anti-Corruption Committee, in the Russian Parliamentary Gazette said that the move aims to “allow believers to observe religious traditions,” while also ensuring “the security of the state,” as the “face, like other data, is needed so that video monitoring systems can identify a person”.
Regarding historical events, during the Soviet era, passport photographs were submitted without headscarves or hijabs.
The change started after the dissolution of the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in 1991 when Muslim women started using photographs in hijabs until the practice was prohibited in 1997, Tasnimnews reported.
Consequently, the Russian Supreme Court later declared the ban unlawful in 2003. The fresh development comes as a relief for practicing Muslims who had been advocating the same silently or otherwise.
