The sources said the directive marked the latest development in a Hamas
campaign to impose Islamic observance on the Gaza Strip. They said the
campaign was launched by the Islamic Affairs Ministry amid the emergence of
Al Qaida-aligned and militias, which have accused Hamas of tolerating
Christian worship, Internet and mixed dancing, regarded as influences from
the West.
"We have to encourage people to be virtuous and keep them away from
sin," Hamas Deputy Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullah Abu Jarbou said.
Under the latest decision, male attorneys would be required to wear a
uniform in court that consists of a robe, dark suit, white shirt and black
tie. Female counterparts would also wear a robe and a scarf.
"This decision constitutes a violation of the law and an unjustified
intervention into lawyers' affairs," the Palestinian Center for Human Rights
said. "It also undermines personal freedoms and women's rights through
forcing female lawyers to wear traditional robes."
Hamas has acknowledged that the regime was conducting what officials
termed a "culture of resistance." Officials said the policy was meant to
sustain any Palestinian conflict with Israel regardless of economic or
political hardship.
"We are not terrorists but resistance fighters, and we want to explain
our reality to the outside world," Hamas Culture Minister Osama Alisawi said
along the sidelines of a conference on the culture of resistance.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the Hamas directive
violates the Palestinian Basic Law of 2003. The human rights group said the
order "constitutes a form of discrimination against women and undermines
personal freedoms ensured by the constitution."
"Imposing a special uniform on female and male lawyers in the Gaza Strip
reinforces the state of fragmentation, which means that two kinds of
clothing for lawyers, one in the West Bank and the other one in Gaza, even
though the unification of the Bar Association in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip has been an important national achievement in the past years," the
center said.
