Egyptian teacher fired for cutting hair of girls who didn’t wear headscarves

A teacher in Egypt has been fired after she cut the hair of two 12-year-old students because they were not wearing headscarves.

Iman Abu Bakr Kilany, who wears a full veil herself, said that she'd been dismissed from her school in Luxor after relatives of the girl complained.

"It started as a joke with the girls when I told them I would cut their hair if they don't wear headscarves," Kilany told Reuters by telephone. " Last Wednesday, one of my boy students reminded me and gave me scissors from his school bag and I used them and cut small amounts of their hair." 

The two girls were the only students in her class to not wear headscarves.

According to the Associated Press, the girls were forced to stand with their hands above their heads for two hours.

According to NBC News, the incident is being viewed within Egypt as another example of hardline muslims attempting to impose their values on others.

"Without exaggeration, we feel that many of the hardline Islamists feel empowered by the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power to impose their strict views on society," said human rights activist Gamal Eid.

The National Council For Women (NCW) condemned Kilany in a statement on Wednesday, saying her act “violates Egyptian law, the rights of humans and the rights of children”.

Since President Mohammad Morsi took office, secularists in Egypt have been concerned about the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's party taking control of the country. In early September, the first woman wearing a veil broadcast the news in Egypt on a state news channel.