24 August 2015

School tells Muslim pupil to take off veil in class

The 14-year-old Muslim girl was sent home from her school in Thun last week after being told that wearing the hijab — a veil that covers the head and chest — contravened a school rule forbidding pupils from covering their heads, reported Le Matin.

Speaking to the paper, the school’s director said they were having “constructive discussions” with the girl’s parents and that “a solution would emerge”.

But a compromise could be difficult to find since there is no legal basis for prohibiting the hijab in class.

In 2011 the Bern cantonal government refused a proposal by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC) calling for regulation of school uniform, saying instead that schools should have the right to decide for themselves what is appropriate. [The Local] Read more