Female applicants are no longer allowed to take university entrance exams in Tajikistan wearing hijab, Tajikistan’s State Teacher Training Institute stated Friday.

The statement came after three applicants wearing hijab were prevented from taking entrance exams at the National University on July 31. Tajikistan's Ministry of Education has banned the hijab for school and university students.

This is hijab -- no face covering, not a burqa, not an abaya. In other words, something that presents much less security risk (if any).

In absence of security risk, is this stam just a curtailing of religious expression?