Curtain Munchers take one on the chin!
Hijab, yes. Niqab and Jilbab, no.
Girl loses appeal over veil ban.
A 12-year-old Muslim girl has lost a legal challenge to her school's ban on wearing the niqab full-face veil. Lawyers for the girl and her father had argued that the ban was "irrational" and a breach of her human rights.
But Mr Justice Silber rejected their plea for a judicial review.
The girl's lawyers said after the judgment that she and her family were "bitterly disappointed" and were considering an appeal.
The judge was told at a recent hearing that the girl's three elder sisters all attended the same school - two of them under the present headteacher - and all wore the niqab. (ed.note: must have been before Muslims started blowing up buildings and stuff.)
But when the girl - referred to only as X - began wearing the veil last September, the school objected on the grounds it would make communication and learning difficult.
The veil covers all of the face except the eyes.
About 120 of the school's 1,300-plus pupils are Muslims, and up to 60 of them wear the hijab headscarf, though no others are thought to be demanding the right to wear the niqab.
The girl is currently receiving tuition at home and has been offered a place at a different, mixed school which permits the niqab, but she wants to go back to her original school.
The girl's solicitor, Shah Qureshi, said after the ruling: "This is a case about religious tolerance and the freedom to practice your religion as long as it does not interfere with others.
"This freedom is enshrined within Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. My client and her family are not the extremists that they have been portrayed as by some elements of the press.
"All she wants is to be able to practice her deeply held beliefs whilst getting on with her daily life. She is not impinging on the rights of others and has always been willing to meet with the school to reach a resolution."
Girl loses appeal over veil ban.
A 12-year-old Muslim girl has lost a legal challenge to her school's ban on wearing the niqab full-face veil. Lawyers for the girl and her father had argued that the ban was "irrational" and a breach of her human rights.
But Mr Justice Silber rejected their plea for a judicial review.
The girl's lawyers said after the judgment that she and her family were "bitterly disappointed" and were considering an appeal.
The judge was told at a recent hearing that the girl's three elder sisters all attended the same school - two of them under the present headteacher - and all wore the niqab. (ed.note: must have been before Muslims started blowing up buildings and stuff.)
But when the girl - referred to only as X - began wearing the veil last September, the school objected on the grounds it would make communication and learning difficult.
The veil covers all of the face except the eyes.
About 120 of the school's 1,300-plus pupils are Muslims, and up to 60 of them wear the hijab headscarf, though no others are thought to be demanding the right to wear the niqab.
The girl is currently receiving tuition at home and has been offered a place at a different, mixed school which permits the niqab, but she wants to go back to her original school.
The girl's solicitor, Shah Qureshi, said after the ruling: "This is a case about religious tolerance and the freedom to practice your religion as long as it does not interfere with others.
"This freedom is enshrined within Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. My client and her family are not the extremists that they have been portrayed as by some elements of the press.
"All she wants is to be able to practice her deeply held beliefs whilst getting on with her daily life. She is not impinging on the rights of others and has always been willing to meet with the school to reach a resolution."
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