Muslim girl loses challenge to ban

LONDON – A 15-year-old girl who was barred from wearing traditional Muslim dress at school yesterday lost her court fight to overturn the ban.

Shabina Begum was sent home from Denbigh High School in Luton, north of London, in September 2002 for wearing the jilbab, a long, flowing gown covering all her body except her hands and face. She has not attended school since.She went to the High Court, arguing she was being denied her right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs.The school argued the jilbab posed a health and safety risk and might cause divisions among pupils, with those who wore traditional dress being seen as “better Muslims” than others.Judge Sir Hugh Bennett ruled that the school’s dress code was a “reasoned, balanced, proportionate policy” and that Begum’s human rights had not been violated.Four-fifths of Denbigh’s 1 000 pupils are Muslims.The school denies acting in a discriminatory manner and says it has a flexible school uniform policy which takes into account all faiths and cultures.Pupils are allowed to wear trousers, skirts or a traditional shalwar kameez, consisting of trousers and a tunic.”Having considered the matter carefully, it seems to me unrealistic and artificial to say that the claimant’s right to education has been denied in the particular circumstances of this case,” Bennett said.The judge refused Begum permission to appeal, but she can still ask the Court of Appeal to hear the case.Her lawyer, Yvonne Spencer, said Begum was considering whether to appeal.She said the teenager was “devastated” by the decision.”What it effectively states is that a pupil who is behaving disruptively in class has a better right to education than a pupil who asks a school to breach the rules on uniform and wear religious dress in accordance with genuine and sincerely held religious beliefs,” she said.- Nampa-APShe has not attended school since.She went to the High Court, arguing she was being denied her right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs.The school argued the jilbab posed a health and safety risk and might cause divisions among pupils, with those who wore traditional dress being seen as “better Muslims” than others.Judge Sir Hugh Bennett ruled that the school’s dress code was a “reasoned, balanced, proportionate policy” and that Begum’s human rights had not been violated.Four-fifths of Denbigh’s 1 000 pupils are Muslims.The school denies acting in a discriminatory manner and says it has a flexible school uniform policy which takes into account all faiths and cultures.Pupils are allowed to wear trousers, skirts or a traditional shalwar kameez, consisting of trousers and a tunic.”Having considered the matter carefully, it seems to me unrealistic and artificial to say that the claimant’s right to education has been denied in the particular circumstances of this case,” Bennett said.The judge refused Begum permission to appeal, but she can still ask the Court of Appeal to hear the case.Her lawyer, Yvonne Spencer, said Begum was considering whether to appeal.She said the teenager was “devastated” by the decision.”What it effectively states is that a pupil who is behaving disruptively in class has a better right to education than a pupil who asks a school to breach the rules on uniform and wear religious dress in accordance with genuine and sincerely held religious beliefs,” she said.- Nampa-AP