A/HRC/4/21/Add.3 page 14 place of worship for religions other than Islam. Any suggestion of allowing foreign workers, teachers and other non-Muslim residents to worship openly is met with firm resistance. All foreigners are prohibited from propagating their religion or carrying out missionary work. 48. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur has been informed that expatriate school pupils who choose not to study Islam are unable to pass their end of year school exams. Islam forms an integral part of the school curriculum and it has been alleged that alternative subjects are not offered to expatriate school pupils. The paradox of this situation seems to be that a large percentage of schoolteachers in the Maldives are expatriate themselves. However, the Government maintains that expatriate students who choose not to follow Islamic Studies and Dhivehi language can opt out not to do so. Persons under any form of detention 49. The Special Rapporteur visited Maafushi Prison to assess compliance with international standards on the freedom of religion or belief of persons under any form of detention. At the time of her visit there was a total of 475 remand and convicted prisoners. Of these, 33 were women and 12 were foreigners, predominantly from South Asian countries. The Special Rapporteur notes that Maldivian prisoners are given a choice as to whether they want to attend the prison mosque for Friday prayers. However, foreign prisoners who adhere to the Islamic faith are allegedly not allowed to attend the prison mosque, although they are not prevented from performing their prayers in their cells. The Special Rapporteur was informed that some of these prisoners had their copies of the Holy Koran confiscated. The Government, however, informed the Special Rapporteur that there do not exist any discriminatory practices that prejudice foreign prisoners of Islamic faith from performing their prayers or acquiring copies of the Holy Koran. 50. Foreign prisoners adhering to other faiths do not have access to clergy, although such a denial may well be legitimate given their small number. However, she is concerned that they are unable to perform their prayers due to the objections of their Maldivian cellmates. Until recently they had been detained together and had at that time been able to perform their prayers in an unhindered manner. She received differing information regarding the provision of religiously sensitive meals to non-Muslim prisoners. The prison officials informed her that they catered for the different diets and the Government noted that the prison authorities have not received any requests for a vegetarian diet from non-Muslim prisoners. However, the Hindu prisoners informed her that they were not provided with a vegetarian diet, but received the same diet as the other prisoners, including meat. Women 51. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the number of women wearing the headscarf has significantly increased during the past year, and particularly on the islands outside the capital. Many of her interlocutors expressed to her their concern that the increasing use of the headscarf was indicative of a growing trend towards Islamic extremism in what has traditionally been a moderate Islamic country. In this regard, she emphasizes that there can be a wide variety of reasons behind a woman’s choice to wear the headscarf. She also stresses that the display of religious symbols, including the wearing of the headscarf, constitutes an integral element of the right to manifest one’s religion or belief.