A British Muslim mother has launched legal action against her daughter's school in London for allegedly banning her from its premises because of her face- covering veil or niqab.
Rachida Serroukh was reportedly told by teachers of Holland Park School during a parents' evening that it was the school's policy not to allow face veils.
The 37-year-old, whose 11-year-old daughter studies at the prestigious school, has launched a discrimination test case on the grounds of religion after feeling "shaken" due to being asked to leave the school from a back exit.
"I was very shaken and was in a state of shock about what had happened. I had never experienced anything like this before. I have experienced name calling in the street from strangers about my veil but nothing like this had ever happened before. When I got home, I just broke down," Serroukh was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper.
She claims to have asked several times to see the school policy banning visitors from wearing a face veil and wrote to the school for clarification on the face veil ban.
In an email from the school's deputy head, Ross Wilson, said: "It has not been necessary to date for the school to have this requirement stated in written policy."
"Given the concerns you have raised, we are now considering a written amendment to our health and safety policy to include this specific requirement and will follow the normal protocol of seeking the approval of the governing body," the email said.
Guidance from the UK's Department for Education states that it is up to individual schools to decide about whether staff and pupils can wear face veils, but it says nothing about parents and other visitors.
Serroukh's lawyer, Attiq Malik of Liberty Law Solicitors, believes it is a "straightforward" test case of discrimination on the grounds of religion.
"The government constantly talks about British values. To me, those values include diversity and multiculturalism. If a school in London is doing this, what might be happening elsewhere," he questioned.
"If people are not allowed to come to premises wearing a niqab for example - does this not pave the way for a raster not to be allowed to wear dreadlocks, or a Sikh not being allowed to wear a turban? What are we opening the door to," he added.
The school is yet to respond to the legal action.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
