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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

Faith school where women are banned from wearing trousers becomes state funded

430 replies

ArabellaSaurus · 27/09/2025 22:37

https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2025/09/faith-school-which-bans-women-wearing-trousers-becomes-state-funded

'The National Secular Society has expressed alarm that a London faith school which bans women from wearing trousers and penalises families who attend non-kosher restaurants will now be funded by the state.
Nancy Reuben Primary School re-opened as a voluntary aided (VA) state school this month, after operating as an independent school for 26 years. Its decision to join the state sector follows the Government's move to charge VAT on independent school fees.'

'Women may not wear trousers, mini skirts, shorts, low necklines or sleeveless tops
The school's dress code for parents and visitors says men "must have their head covered at all times" and women "must wear skirts of knee length (a maximum of 2" above is acceptable)". It says trousers "may not be worn" by women.
Additionally, women must cover their underarms and may not wear cap sleeves. Women may not wear clothes with necklines lower than "4 fingers from the collar bone" either "in front or back of the garment".
Trousers are permitted for aupairs and nannies but they may not wear mini skirts, shorts, plunging necklines or sleeveless tops.'

OP posts:
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LoftyRobin · 02/10/2025 07:38

Anactor · 01/10/2025 08:22

Look back to the original Forstater case - WORIADS. Religions such as Christianity and Judaism are both WORIADS. In a democratic society, they are worthy of respect.

Privacy, safety and vulnerability of women are beliefs. That the statistics show women need safety is a fact, but that women deserve safety is a belief.

And I repeat my question. If we can’t expect our belief based requests to be accommodated, how are we going to protect our privacy, our safety, if you’ve already given away the principle that we can’t even expect belief based requests to be taken into consideration?

How do you argue that GCs have the right to not be harassed in hospital and get same sexed care - when you’ve already argued that a Haredi woman should effectively be told her beliefs are far less important than the consultant’s right to not fill the forms in by 1 pm? Or the ward sister’s right to be annoyed at you for not wanting to be discharged at a time when your relatives can’t drive, your husband can’t prepare any extra food and you’ll have to ask the taxi driver to carry the baby into the house?

Do we have a right to say our radiographer should be female when the one on duty is a TIM? We have a clinical need to be scanned…

If we don’t expect a hospital to show respect for a long established religion, how do we expect them to show respect for GC? The entire Fife case - total lack of respect for the beliefs of a working class nurse that she should have a single sex space to change in.

Clinical needs are more important? OK, Dr Upton’s clinical need, to protect his mental health, was to change in the nurse’s changing room.

Case closed. Nothing to see here, clinical needs are more important and we shouldn’t expect our beliefs to be accommodated.

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I think by accommodating someone's religious belief that God doesnt want you to perform labour between Friday and Saturday (as an example), we are supporting beliefs that aren't founded in Science. While we do this, I think we have no basis to not go with what anyone else believes or values. We should either equally believe all unscientific stuff and accommodate it, or we never base our clinical care around the personal beliefs of service users.

Remember, men do not touch Jewish women in labour if they practice Niddah. In a non-Jewish family, if a man refused to pass his labouring wife a glass of water because he considers her unclean, we'd have questions about her safety at home. We adjust that for religious beliefs and go with the fact that as soon as her waters have broken or she is contracting regularly, she is unclean so her husband won't touch her, and we must be aware that the only physical support or touch she will get from anyone in labour is from us.

LoftyRobin · 02/10/2025 07:38

Anactor · 02/10/2025 07:32

And if there’s no space on the form for ‘Jewish’, so that they have to pick between ‘white’ and ‘other’?

That kind of does make your interpretation (their identity doesn’t exist as a separate category) trump theirs.

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Then most Others have always ticked Other. We don't default to white because we don't feel white.

Anactor · 02/10/2025 07:49

LoftyRobin · 02/10/2025 07:38

Then most Others have always ticked Other. We don't default to white because we don't feel white.

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So you are imposing your interpretation of how to describe your own identity onto someone else.

LoftyRobin · 02/10/2025 08:07

Anactor · 02/10/2025 07:49

So you are imposing your interpretation of how to describe your own identity onto someone else.

Show quote history

No I'm saying that people typically tick what is most representative of them.

TheignT · 02/10/2025 08:38

BonfireLady · 01/10/2025 17:19

Well that escalated quickly.

Each time I've stayed in hospital, I've found the discharge process incredibly frustrating. It involves a lot of waiting around to a) find out if you're actually going to be discharged on that day (even after hints the day before that it was possible) and b) getting the confirmation that it is happening (and paperwork is now being done for meds etc).

However, I've never once assumed that the nurses and doctors were doing it when they could "get round to it" or that I should be grateful that they took the time. Every nurse and doctor will be acutely aware of the pressure to free up the beds. They will also undoubtedly be doing their best to accommodate patients' wishes. The reality is that they will need to prioritise clinical care and patient safety over everything else.

I have posted earlier about being told I couldn't be discharged as the doctor who said I could be discharged had gone off shift and had forgotten to sign the form. This was a Saturday and the Sister said I'd be staying in till Monday. Total madness. I said I was going anyway and magically a doctor was found who could sign the paper and I could leave. I was leaving anyway but it was interesting to observe.

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