Schoolgirl wins dress case

Bazf · 02-03-2005, 18:49

A MUSLIM schoolgirl today won her battle to wear her traditional head-to-toe dress in the classroom.The Court of Appeal ruled that her school had acted unlawfully in barring her from wearing the outfit.Shabina Begum, 15, accused teachers and governors of Denbigh High School in Luton of denying her the "right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs".
Lord Justice Brooke called on the Department of Education to give schools more guidance on how to comply with their obligations under the Human Rights Act.
Miss Begum was represented at the appeal court by the Prime Minister's wife Cherie Booth QC.Ms Booth told judges at a hearing last December that the case involved "fundamental issues" about the nature and interpretation of Miss Begum's rights to education and freedom to practice her religion.Last June, High Court judge Mr Justice Bennett dismissed the girl’s
application for judicial review, ruling she had failed to show that the "highly successful" 1,000-pupil school, with 79 per cent of its students Muslims, had excluded her or breached her human rights.
Miss Booth said Mr Justice Bennett was saying that the school, which sent her home after she refused to wear authorised school uniform, was entitled to "pick and choose" which religious beliefs it accepted.After the judgment, Shabina, now 16 and attending a school where the jilbab is allowed, said: "Today’s decision is a victory for all Muslims who wish to preserve their identity and values despite prejudice and bigotry."

Would we be allowed to send our kids to school with this getup on?

Or even this one?

garinda · 02-03-2005, 18:53

Political correctness gone mad!
In whatever country your in, you should try & integrate.
50 years time this country could be like Bosnia.

accyplus · 02-03-2005, 18:58

What do mean in 50 years time.its like that now.

Doug · 02-03-2005, 19:01

Just don't get started on this. It's getting to be ******* ridicules in this Country. Who the hell are these people. Go to Iran, Iraq or Syria and try and argue about your religious rights. We’re ****** in this country and if the government doesn’t start to wake up it will end up with a civil war on its hands one day.

garinda · 02-03-2005, 19:42

The politicans don't do themseives any favours. lt'll be like Germany in the 30's, people will get fed up, it's happening in Holland. What was traditionally a liberal country is turning to the right.

K.S.H · 02-03-2005, 20:04

When in the Uk they should do as we do, behind closed doors they can do as they like.
If I should ever want to go in a mosque they would want me to take off my shoes, would they let me in if I refused?

andrewb · 02-03-2005, 20:05

This country is going so downhill. Crap like this makes people vote BNP, and BNP are TOO politicaly incorrect

rockrabbit · 02-03-2005, 20:35

without sounding racist even though things like this turn people that way if people want to become british citizens they should live by our ways or clear off back to where they came from . Wonder what would happen if an english girl went to a school in pakistan dressed like they do over here and there aint a chance the authorities would allow it to go to court over there . Once again the majority of all this is down to labour

chav1 · 02-03-2005, 21:14

in france muslims are told to dress in the correct uniform or dont bother turning up an thats how it should be

the idea of a school uniform is so not to seperate people from one another

why is it they are so reluctant to follow standard procedures and cry about religeon and their skin colour when somthing dosnt go their way when other muslims respect the rules and get on with it

if there is a do not walk on the grass sighn these kind of people will deliberatly wwalk on the grass just because it says dont do it

i dare say these people knew the school rules and uniform policies before they sent their child there so they had a choice right there if they wanted to follow the rules they go ahead and if they didnt like the rules they could have looked elswhere

it also says aged 15 so when exactly did she decide the school was been racist , shouldnt there have been somthing said say " in the 1st year " for example

Acrylic-bob · 02-03-2005, 21:26

>> the "right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs".<<

Hey, I have no problem with people manifesting their religious beliefs. But apparently quite a few people in this country do. I am thinking of those upright and oh so politically correct members of our community who deny us the right to "manifest" symbols of the religious traditions of this country, for fear of offending adherents of foreign cults. It is not so long ago that we were discussing the banning of traditional Christmas displays in schools and public areas. I am sure that with Easter fast approaching our PC censors will be sharpening their ideological scissors in eager anticipation of what else they can cut from our culture to sooth the outraged sensibilities of some ethnic minority or other.

lindsay ormerod · 02-03-2005, 21:34

Well said Bob!
Every single festival in the religious calendar seems to offend someone else;my child has no idea why we make a fuss over Halloween but she can draw you a perfect Muslim prayer mat!

Acrylic-bob · 02-03-2005, 21:36

Additionally, one wonders whether this girl actually initiated the court case herself. How many 15 year olds do you know who would have the presence of mind or maturity to take a local education authority all the way to the high court - and win?

It strikes me that she has been used (and financed) to test the law, by people whose aims actually have very little to do with securing her freedom to "manifest her religious beliefs"

WillowTheWhisp · 02-03-2005, 21:41

I may be wrong as I don't know the school in question (although I have a feeling that Busman does) but if it's like most schools then the uniform already caters for the muslim standard of body coverage. They are not supposed after a certain age to show bare legs or arms. Well the arms are covered by the blouses and jumpers. In many cases muslim and non-muslim girls wear trousers rather than skirts. This has been the case for quite a few years. Girls have a choice of skirt or trousers and a lot opt for trousers especially in the winter because they are warmer. My daughters wear trousers not due to religious beliefs but because they are more comfortable in them. They are school uniform so there's no problem. So are we simply talking about the headscarf? At some schools the headscarf is accepted and at others it isn't and like you say the family would have been aware of the school's policy on this when they made their choice of school. If they weren't then it was up to them to ask if it mattered so much to them. Hundreds of muslim schoolgirls don't wear the headscarf and don't regard it as an affront to their religion not to do so.

There's got to be some give and take here and I think it's about time those of us who wish to celebrate Christmas and Easter stood up for ourselves and insist that we be treated as equals. The stupid thing is that it isn't muslims or anyone of other religious persuasions who object - it's the narrow minded PC brigade with their "do-gooders" hats on again and they are too blind to see that they are doing more harm than good because they are offending far more people by banning these things than they imagine they would do by permitting them.

Acrylic-bob · 02-03-2005, 21:52

It is interesting that you mentioned your daughter's choice of school uniform, Willow. I agree, trousers are much more practical, decent and warmer. I think that the thing most people miss in this argument is that we are lucky enough to live in a sophisticated western society in the twenty first century. Not in some third world country that is still struggling to move out of the seventh century.

Yet again the question occurs, what is the point in coming to live here if you wish to maintain the standards and modes of behaviour of a pre-industrial society? I don't understand.

lindsay ormerod · 02-03-2005, 22:00

Think you hit the nail on the head there A-B;what's the point of becoming "westernised" to all intents and purposes and yet still clinging to the out dated traditions? How on earth can Muslim girls in the full get-up be expected to fully participate in school life?I am not just talking about sport and the inherent risks in chemistry labs but the integration amongst their peers.I find the full jihab intimidating and and would imagine it is awkward and claustrophobic.