Tag: hijab ban

  • British Muslim student loses prayer ban challenge in London High Court

    British Muslim student loses prayer ban challenge in London High Court

    A British Muslim student has lost a High Court case over permission to pray at school.

    The student approached the court after not being allowed to pray at Michaela School in Brent, London.

    Michaela School was founded by current head teacher Catherine Burbal Singh and about half of the school’s 700 students are Muslim.

    The student had argued that the policy of not allowing prayer was discriminatory, but the school was of the view that allowing prayer would affect social cohesion among students, reported BBC.

    He also questioned why the student was given legal aid of GBP 150,000 for the case when her mother wants to admit another girl in the same school.

    Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch said the court decision is a victory against activists who want to bring down public institutions.

    The head teacher has made it clear to the parents that if you don’t like the school, don’t bring the children here.

  • Kazakhstan puts ban on Hijab in schools

    Kazakhstan puts ban on Hijab in schools

    Kazakhstan government, home to a population with 70 per cent Muslims, has announced a ban on head-scarves for students and teachers in schools and educational institutions.

    “Requirements for the school uniform prohibit the wearing of the hijab, since any attribute, symbol, element in one way or another implies propaganda of the dogma to which they relate. Ensuring the equality of all religions before the law, the principles of secularism do not allow the advantage of any religion,” the Kazakh Government’s website stated on October 16.

    The ban has initiated a fierce debate on different levels of the populace. The Government, however, has maintained that Kazakhstan is a secular country. The opposing group consider the ban a violation of the freedom of expression and conscience.

    Consequently, many students have dropped out of the school. Education Minister Gani Beisembayev confirmed that a total of 150 girls dropped out of school in the Atyarau region, whereas in Turkestan, two men reportedly beat a school director for not allowing the girls wearing hijab to attend lectures.

    As a sign of protest, many are posting videos of burning down their books or pictures of them wearing a hijab stating that they will not trade anything for their right to wearing the head covering.
    A member of Almaty Social Council in Qojaly believes that “First of all, you have to know that the hijab is actually a headscarf with which girls in Kazakhstan were covered from puberty, that is, from the age of 13.There is no religious connotation here. Second, the law enshrines the right to education, and the ban that has been enacted is an artificial barrier to exercising that right. Why do headscarves suddenly prevent Muslim girls from joining secular life? No one is banning the wearing of Christian crosses or tubeteika caps. In fact, we are talking about a certain form of segregation.”

    The Grand Mufti of Kazakhstan, Nauryzbay Kazhy Taganuly, has proposed that the girls who want to wear hijab should join Madrassas or any Muslim Educational institution from grade 10 onwards. So far nobody has objected to this.

    Amidst all this, President Kassym-Jomart has expressed his determination to ensure “freedom of religion” as per the law of his secular state.

  • Ban on abayas in state-run schools in France

    The French education minister has imposed a ban on students, prohibiting them from wearing abayas in state-run schools. The ban will be imposed from the next academic year starting September 4.

    France has always prohibited religious manifestations in state schools and government spaces as they “violate secular laws”.

    Ban on abayas has been implemented after months of debate over the attire worn in schools.

    Education Minister Gabriel Attal, while talking to France’s TF1 TV, said: “When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them,

    “I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools.”

    With an increasing number of students wearing abayas, the political divide has widened as the right-wing parties are pressing for a ban while the left-wing is advocating for the rights of Muslim women and girls.

    “Secularism means the freedom to emancipate oneself through school,” added Attal. He believes that abaya is “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary that school must constitute.”

    France implemented a strict ban on religious signs in schools back in the 19th Century which included Christian symbols like large crosses. The purpose was to eliminate any Catholic influence on public education. Now that people from other religions have a significant presence in French society, the laws have been updated and are targeted at the Muslim headscarf and Jewish kippa.

    France first imposed a ban on headscarf in state-run schools in 2004 while full face veils were banned in public in 2010.

  • Bella Hadid wants your support finding the right organisations to help flood victims in Pakistan

    Bella Hadid wants your support finding the right organisations to help flood victims in Pakistan

    Supermodel Bella Hadid has requested her followers to guide her on ways to help the flood victims in Pakistan.

    Sharing a video on her Instagram stories, she wrote , “Finding real ways to help Pakistan.” 

    Floods triggered by incessant rains have killed more than 1000 people including 300 hundred children.

    The catastrophic flooding has rendered millions of people homeless during the last few days.

    Earlier this year, Bella claimed she was “shadow banned” by Instagram for posting about Palestine after Israeli authorities attacked worshippers at al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday.

    “If you really would like to silence me , just like the journalists, or really anyone trying to educate about Palestine, @instagram, I will continue to come forward with peace , showing factual information about how the IDF, Israeli government, and Settlers attack innocent Palestinians for no reason , except for simply being Palestinian. This is all a breach of human rights, and if you continue to sensor us, is the biggest form of bias and Unjust censorship.”

    “But I will not continue to sit here and have my peoples name be slandered as if they are constantly doing something wrong to deserve this kind of abuse. Absolutely UNPROVOKED abuse. In their home , and on their land, that they have lived in for hundreds of years. Especially now, during the holy month of Ramadan. This is unprovoked,” added Bella.

    Bella is an ardent advocate of women’s rights as well. In February, she had called out India for the discrimination faced by Muslim women for wearing hijab.

  • “Hijab is not essential part of Islam”, India’s Karnataka High Court supports hijab ban

    “Hijab is not essential part of Islam”, India’s Karnataka High Court supports hijab ban

    The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the government’s decision to ban hijab in educational institutes in the Indian state. The court ruled that the hijab is not an essential part of Islam.

    The hearing was headed by three judges who agreed that the “prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction on fundamental rights.”

    The state government during the hearing told the court that a ban on hijab does not violate fundamental rights to practice and profess a religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.

    The court also added that religious symbols should not be involved in the uniforms of educational institutes.

    A group of Muslim female students from Udupi government college had filed a petition to allow them to wear hijab which, according to them, is a fundamental right to practice religion. However, the Karnataka High court rejected their plea and ruled in favour of banning the hijab by the state government.

    Anas Tanwir, a lawyer who is now representing the girls is planning to appeal to the Supreme Court. He termed the Karnataka court’s ruling “disappointing” and “erroneous”.

    “I believe it is a wrong interpretation of the law,” he said while talking to Al Jazeera.

    “As far as an essential religious practice is concerned, [that] should not have been the question. The question should have been whether the [authorities] had the power to pass such orders.”

    The tension arose in January when a section of the Hindu right-wing group appeared wearing saffron scarves and threatened female Muslim class fellows not to wear the hijab during classes, which made state government college in Chikkamagaluru district, Karnataka, ban the hijab and saffron scarves over fears of rising tension.

  • After hijab, college in India asks Sikh girl to remove turban

    After hijab, college in India asks Sikh girl to remove turban

    A college in Bengaluru, India, has asked a Sikh girl to remove her turban in accordance with the order of the court, Hindustan Times reported. However, the 17-year-old Sikh girl who was asked to take off her turban refused to do so.  

    The college, while citing Karnataka High Court’s orders, has asked Muslim as well as Sikh students to abide by the rules. As per the the Karnataka High Court’s order, students should “refrain from wearing saffron shawls, scarfs, hijab, religious flags, or the likes within the classroom until further orders” in institutes that have “prescribed the student dress code/uniforms”.

    The family of the girl has responded and said that “the order does not mention anything about the Sikh turban”.

  • Muslim students protest over hijab ban in Indian college continues

    Muslim students are continuing to protest outside their college gate on Friday after they were barred from entering the premises for wearing a hijab. The college is located in Karnataka state, India.

    Police arrived at the protest after hundreds of students joined the sit-in protest and demanded that the girls be allowed to enter the college.

    They were chanting, “We want Education”.

    https://twitter.com/safaperaje/status/1489520351105241089

    Parents of the students also joined and questioned college authorities on sending their children out of school and making them stand on the road for wearing a hijab. However, college authorities claim that they have to follow the orders from the government.

    The management claims that if they allow hijab on their campus then other Hindu students would take saffron shawls and religious symbolism is not permitted in the educational institute.

    Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra said that religion should be kept away from education and students should neither come wearing hijab or saffron shawls to schools.

    On Thursday, the principal of the college closed the gate for students wearing hijab. This incident happened after some Hindu students in saffron shawls were stopped at the gate as well.

    They were raising slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

    Another government college in Karnataka has banned the hijab and saffron scarves over rising tension fears.