To think a school can't legally suddenly ban the headscarf for muslin girls!

[Headscarfs123]

So our local catholic school has banned the headscarf this week...disastrous for some of the girls but also against church advice that headscarfs are fine, against DFES advice about consultation and sensitivity to religious groups, against best practice as this type of change should involve the governing body? discriminatory on religious and sexist grounds...Sikh boys can keep their turbans.

Aibu to think that the school is legally in the wrong?

I'm really surprised that so many of you are fine with this. From my perspective (as a feminist atheist), and assuming its all true and no facts are missing, this reeks of social engineering and the head of a school which is not doing well attempting to change the mix by eliminating undesirable children. (we don't know whether there are local Catholic families who are currently avoiding the school, or whether the gaps would be filled by atheists, Anglicans Hindus and Sikhs). Regardless of whether Islam requires young women to cover their heads, a ban on the hijab will drive a lot of Muslim families away from the school, and I would assume that to be the purpose of the policy, because honestly, there's no strong practical reason to forbid headscarfs, and I'd be very surprised if the head is motivated by theoretical feminist principles.

What happens if the girls become nuns? Surely the habit won't be banned too?

Does anyone know yet which school this is?

I googled it and it only shows Dutch schools banning head coverings.

None in the UK.

No-one will really talk about whether or not it is good for children to be wearing head gear indoors all day - inside school??

Throwing the 'religion' word at it is meaningless and illogical.

Take all religion out of schools and then it will be fair for all.

It stops them catching nits.

Girls can't become Nuns until they're adult, a Nun is a specific extreme following of Christ and can not be compared to your average follower.

Littleducks - OK I'll give you that.

Here here mrszimmerman hit the nail right on the -unscarved- head.

When in Rome do as the Romans do.

animation Do you have any muslim colleagues or friends you could chat to about it and get their perspective? It might help you to understand.

It is not right of you to declare religion meaningless and illogical, which you are doing by declaring that stating this as reason for dressing a certain way is meaningless and illogical. To you maybe.

onagar makes an excellent point.

Animation as I expect you know really the headscarf isn't to keep the head warm. It's a badge so you know which side you are on and who is winning.

That is why it is inappropriate and is one reason why a catholic school will oppose Muslim children wearing their own religious symbols.

TBH I think there is something in the view of dressing in a hijab and 'modest' clothing which might give women more freedom.

"It is not right of you to declare religion meaningless and illogical, which you are doing by declaring that stating this as reason for dressing a certain way is meaningless and illogical. To you maybe."

I think you're twisting my words.

Can you give me a logical and meaningful PRACTICAL reason why children wear head gear all day indoors - in school?

It's not a trick question.

wot Lulu said

social engineering. Especially if, the OP says, Sikh boys can still wear turbans

I am pretty sure, Animation, that if anyone had done a study on whether or not it is good for children to be wearing head gear indoors all day - inside school and found it wasn't, our glorious free press would have been on it like a dog on hot chips. As would a lot of headteachers across the country

can you give us a PRACTICAL reason why kids wear ties in school, Animation?

Apart from the fact it is not a religious symbol, neither is it a nAqib or a Hijab, it's a headscarf. Exactly the same thing an elderly lady covers her hair from the rain. It's outside of the prescribed uniform, so the school should be able to disallow it.

I think it's quite ironic that many of you are claiming that you are against the headscarf because it is a women's rights issue, thereby supporting a catholic school. Catholicism is hardly renowned for it's pro-women stance, and the majority of their costs will be paid for out of public money (church schools get a very small amount of money, if any, from the church itself - they are publicly funded).

I don't know whether women are coerced into wearing headscarves by men. I'm not a member of the muslim community and it would be extremely arrogant to claim I knwo what they think and believe. I would imagine that like with everything else, some are, and some have taken a more independant decision and you can't generalise.

The other reason the muslim girls in my eldests class wore head scarves - the "naughty" ones as she saw it, was that they had their ipod head phones sewn inside and were craftily circumventing rules as kids will!!

Throwing the 'religion' word at it is meaningless and illogical.

I'm not twisting your words, ^ there they are!
As another poster has said, what's PRACTICAL about a tie?

Animation It's neutral. Nits has already been brought up. Head "gear" indoors can also be useful for keeping hair up and away from the face and Bunsen burners, but this can be prevented in other ways. It could be useful to allow students to have more 'wild' hairstyles if they could then be covered if they caused a disturbance, but then this could cause issues if it was used inappropriately. It could prevent bullying if a child had a scalp/hair condition if they could pop on a school approved hat, but then the hat may become a target for bullying in and of itself. So, school-approved headcoverings could be good or bad depending on the situation like pretty much anything else.

"can you give us a PRACTICAL reason why kids wear ties in school, Animation?"

No.

I don't think they do much any harm though.

A scalf -

1- Covers the ears and may affect hearing the teacher.
2 - Restricts free movement of the head and neck.
3 - May cause overheating - particularly during PE.
4 - May unravel during PE.
5 - Gets in the way if you wear glasses
6 - Conceals and flattens hair....