Around 5,000 people protested in Kosovo on Friday against a government decision to ban pupils from wearing Muslim headscarves in public schools.

Around 90 percent of Kosovo's population are Muslims but the former Serbian province, which declared independence in 2008, remains a largely secular country.

Protesters, who came to the capital from all over the country, urged the government to withdraw its decision and not to "discriminate against Muslims."

"We will continue the protests until they will allow our daughters to go to school with headscarves," said organiser Halil Kastrati.

Angry protesters with banners that read "Don't use our state against us" and "Communism is over" marched to the ministry of education, which had approved the ban.