Girl loses Muslim dress legal fight

A 15-YEAR-OLD schoolgirl in Britain yesterday lost her High Court battle for the right to wear traditional Muslim dress in the classroom.

Shabina Begum said she was being denied her “right to education and to manifest her religious beliefs”.

But lawyers for the head teacher and governors of Denbigh High School, Luton, raised fears that a win for Shabina could cause unwelcome divisions among pupils, as well as health and safety risks.

Some Muslim girls might be regarded as “better Muslims” than others, a judge was told in a test case with important implications for multi-faith schools across Britain.

Solicitor Iqbal Javed, speaking on behalf of the school and the local education authority, said: “Denbigh High School’s uniform was agreed by the governing body after wide consultation and pupil involvement.

“The uniform is designed to be inclusive and takes into account the cultural and religious sensitivities of pupils at the school.

“Its appropriateness for Muslim students was recently reiterated by the local Council of Mosques.”

Dismissing Shabina’s application for judicial review, Mr Justice Bennett said the school uniform policy had “a legitimate aim”, which was the “proper running of a multi-cultural, multi-faith secular school”.

The limitations placed on what Shabina could wear was “proportionate” to that aim, and her human rights had not been infringed.

The dress policy applied to Muslim girl pupils “was, and continues to be, a reasoned, balanced, proportionate policy”, the judge said. He added: “It seems to me unrealistic and artificial to say the claimant’s right to education has been denied in the particular circumstances of this case.”

There were indications that Shabina will now be invited to return to the school. She has been out of the school since September 2002, when she was sent home after arriving for classes in the jilbab, a long gown covering all her body except her hands and face.

The case echoes the controversy in France where politicians have voted for a ban on all “ostensible religious symbols” in schools, including the hijab, the headscarf worn by Muslim girls and women.

Shabina’s solicitor-advocate Yvonne Spencer argued the school’s ban on her attire amounted to “constructive exclusion” and breached both domestic law and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The judge refused permission to appeal, but Shabina can still ask the Court of Appeal to hear the case on the basis it raises issues of general importance over the question of dress in multi-cultural schools.

Ms Spencer said the decision was “very disappointing indeed”. She said there was “no chance” of Shabina going back to Denbigh High.