Indonesia’s Widodo faces lawsuit over hijab-removing controversy at Independence Day ceremonies

The carefully selected team typically trains for months before the ceremony in a military-like fashion, so those selected and sent to Jakarta are seen as top students who are a source of pride for their families and schools. However, this year, pride over making the team was stained by a new rule that some viewed as “hurting diversity”.

The National Paskibraka Council (PPI), which organises the flag-raising squad, said that 18 students removed their hijabs during an inauguration event with Widodo at the State Palace in Jakarta on August 13.

“Why was it ‘forbidden’ during the inauguration to wear a hijab? Why were [the girls] uniformised not to use the hijab? Isn’t this hurting diversity itself?” asked Gousta Feriza, chairman of PPI, in a statement issued on August 14.

The hijab rule also led to a personnel change in the team: hijab-wearing Maulia Permata Putri, a student from West Sumatra, was originally assigned to carry the flag tray in the squad before she was replaced by Livenia Evelyn Kurniawan from East Kalimantan, who does not wear a headscarf.

On August 14, Yudian Wahyudi, head of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP), which has overseen Paskibraka since 2022, denied the accusation it had forced students to remove their hijabs.

All the students in the flag-raising squad this year agreed to “voluntarily” follow the regulations set by BPIP, including displaying “uniformed attire and attitudes when they carry out state duties”, Yudian told reporters.

The response by BPIP sparked outrage, with some calling for Widodo to fire Yudian.

A lawsuit against Widodo and BPIP has been filed by the Indonesian Supervisory, Control and Law Enforcement Agency, together with the Megabintang Foundation civic organisation, in a