The law which bans boys and girls learning together in the Gaza Strip went into effect on Sunday, according to Hamas Education Minister Osama Mazini.
The law, proposed on February 10, was approved by the Hamas legislative council.
Article 46 of the law, as reported by AFP, will “ban the mixing of students from the two sexes in educational establishments after the age of nine, and work to ‘feminize’ girls’ schools.”
In the past, Hamas has enforced conservative religious laws, including ordering Gaza schoolgirls to wear full-length robes and headscarves.
The new education law also forbids the “receipt of gifts or aid aimed at normalizing (relations) with the Zionist occupation.”
Hamas has taken over the Gaza Strip in 2007, a year after it won a landslide victory in a general election against its rival Fatah.