Diaspora Bangladeshi mother shaves daughter’s head for not wearing veil

The girl's father and her eldest sister deny the allegation

A Bangladeshi woman has reportedly shaved her daughter’s head in Italy when she found out that the latter removed her hijab soon after leaving the house every day.

The 14-year-old used to put on her headscarf before returning home in Bologna.

Her school’s principal reported her family to police when the eighth grader went to school bald on Thursday, a day after the incident, reports il Resto del Carlino.

Police have taken custody of the girl and are investigating the parents for domestic violence.

However, her father, a mechanic living in Italy since 2004, told the daily that his daughter’s statement was not true.

He said that it was always up to his daughters to decide whether or not to take up hijab.

According to him, his wife cut their daughter’s hair as she had caught lice in her hair from school – a claim denied by the school – and that the eighth grader “did not complain”.

Her eldest sister also defended her parents, saying they did not force their children to wear veils and claimed that her sister had cut her hair herself.

The 14-year-old told police that her mother had frequently insulted and scolded her for defying her parents’ orders not to take off her headscarf on her way to school.

They had also ordered her and her sisters not to talk to boys or even to female friends, according to the report.

Investigators said they had learned that the girl informed her school about the ‘strong psychological pressure’ her mother put on her and their ‘rigid family impositions’.

Police and social services say they feel her version is more credible than that of her family.

Source: dhakatribune