Secular school in Damascus announces full gender segregation, backlash ensues

The prestigious Al-Hurriya Institute in Damascus, formerly known as the Laïque Institute, has sparked outrage among Syrians after the once-secular school announced plans earlier this week to segregate students based on their gender in a now-apparently deleted Facebook post. The secular French school, established by the Mission Française in Syria during the mandate, said that the segregation plans would go ahead 'to avoid some of the problems that occurred previously.' The move has sparked concern among teachers, who fear that they will need to teach the same lessons twice, and among parents angered that the school has not focused on infrastructure improvements, according to the Syrian Observer.