Gaza City/New York  - An international human rights group Friday condemned the Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza for imposing a strict interpretation of Islamic dress codes on female school pupils in the strip.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that since the opening of the school year last week, female students who were not wearing a headscarf or traditional gown have been sent home, based on unofficial new orders from the Hamas authorities.

The students are being told they must wear a jilbab, a long traditional gown, and a headscarf, the rights group said in a statement sent to journalists. Previously, the uniform typically required for female public school students was a long denim skirt and shirt. The new orders appear to have been issued without any legal basis, HRW said.

"No one should be forced to wear religious clothing, including the headscarf, to receive an education," said Nadya Khalife, the women's rights researcher for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch, calling the new orders "arbitrary."

In July and August, Hamas officials held what they called a "virtue" campaign against "immoral" behaviour in Gaza. One Gaza resident told HRW that Hamas police questioned women seen socializing with men in public places. Another said that he had seen Hamas police beat up three young men for swimming without shirts.

The Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) too has condemned the crackdown as "interference in people's personal lives." (dpa)