Education ministry requires students to wear uniform in schools because of "emo" culture
18/03/2012 15:50BAGHDAD, March 18 (AKnews) - The Iraqi education ministry has called on school administrations to tell students to wear uniforms rather than clothes and accessories similar to those of emo youths.
The measure is believed to be a method of spreading caution and awareness.
Spokesman for the ministry Walid Hussein said: "Students in the schools in Baghdad and the provinces are committed to wearing uniform except the students who have exceptional circumstances such as death cases, and those who don't abide by the rules will be expelled and his parents will be informed."
Hussein added that there will be awareness campaigns as well as field visits to educate students.
The human rights committee in the Iraqi Council of Representatives announced its intention to end the emo phenomenon using non-violent, educational methods. The committee denied the existence of emo killings and this was also confirmed by the government security committee.
Media reports surfaced recently about emo youths being killed, abducted and threatened in Baghdad by militant religious groups. Such attacks have created fear among citizens about the return of violence and armed gangs.
The reports mentioned that more than 15 bodies of young people were found in the Iskan neighborhood. With this number the rate of emo victims reached 100 young people after human rights activist Hanaa Edwar said in an interview with Al-Mada newspaper that 85 emo victims were killed.
Iraq's interior ministry recognized that a number of young people in Baghdad have been killed in recent weeks, but assured that they were criminal incidents that occur continuously and were unrelated to emo culture.
Speaker of the Council of Representatives Osama al-Nujaifi meanwhile acknowledged that young men imitating Western manifestations known as emo were killed recently.
Nujaifi is the first Iraqi official to admit the occurrence of murder cases against emos. He called on the government to control the streets and considered the murders as an attempt to spread violence and terror.
By Yazn al-Shummari
RN/DM/AKnews
