Xinjiang city bans Muslim clothing and large beards on public buses
Uygur rights group slams measures as 'discriminatory', as China continues to restrict ethnic group's practices amid spate of violence in the region
A city in Xinjiang has banned people with large beards or Islamic clothing from travelling on public buses, state media said, prompting outrage from an overseas rights group.
Authorities in Karamay banned people wearing hijabs, niqabs, burqas or clothing with the Islamic star and crescent symbol from taking local buses, the reported.
The ban also covers “large beards”, the paper said, adding: “Those who do not cooperate with inspection teams will be handled by police.”
Xinjiang, a resource-rich region which abuts central Asia, is the homeland of China’s mostly Muslim Uygur minority and has been hit by a wave of clashes between locals and security forces which have killed hundreds in the past year.
Beijing has blamed several deadly attacks on civilians outside the region in recent months on “terrorists” seeking independence for the region.
But rights groups say restrictions on Uygurs’ religious and cultural freedoms have stoked tensions.
