Should Muslim Women be Allowed to Wear the Hijab in State Schools?

Maybe it's because the majority are in high-profile positions.

That's not true though...

It should be a fundamental right for people to express their faith by means of wearing symbols of that faith in whatever setting they are....provided that right does not impinge on the rights of others.

And in the case of wearing the hijab, no one can claim that it would.

It seems that the wearing of religious symbols is more of a problem for secularists than relgious people.

The school that I am connected with is a Christian faith school and has Muslim students that wear the hijab to school. Some students wear the salwar kazeem with the long pants, but are still required to wear the kilt of the school uniform over the top.

The forbidding of the hijab, wearing of a crucifix - or any other recognisable religious symbol is part of the agenda to remove all religious symbols from secular society.

The fact that Jewish people comprise less than 1% of the population and your observation that we tend to think there are far more supports my comment about them being 'high profile', yes?

Only when that item, as Yawn has said, affects other individuals around them, should it be considered inappropriate to the context.

This is more of a problem to identify and respond to than you would think. Working in the laboratory carries certain risks beyond those experienced in daily life and this makes certain clothing and jewellery choices unsafe - for example it is common practice in labs with Ultra-high vacuum systems to ban the wearing of diamond rings as they can severly scratch the glass viewports of the system causing an implosion that would kill whoever was looking into the viewport at the time. We get a large number of malaysian muslim students in nottingham including women who wear full length gowns with wide arms and visually restricting headgear (a small minority of a small minority I might add), some of which are a serious tripping hazard in the laboratory as well as the potential for sleeves to get caught/restrict movement under the lab coat and visual restriction. As a lab demonstrator I have refused entry to the lab to people because they were wearing inappropriate clothing (open toed shoes, long hair not tied back) and jewellery that would compromise their and other's safety in the lab, however we were specifically told not to refuse entry to women wearing such garments for fear of reprisals for religious discrimination. It is this fear that concerns me because it overrides important basic concepts in any place of work or education including safety.

Would you expect the individual, in the case that you have outlined, to consider group and personal safety and thus remove the items, or would they refuse?

That's a bit like saying that boys should be allowed to wear school dresses or skirts...in other words, nonsensical.

That's a bit like saying that boys should be allowed to wear school dresses or skirts...in other words, nonsensical.

As a matter of interest, my gran tells me that when she was nursing years ago, nurses weren't allowed to wear wedding rings whilst working, as they were considered potential sources for the spread of bacteria. Nurses had to wear their rings around their neck on a chain placed on the inside of their uniform. Would that be a justifiable restriction these days?

yep my gran told me the same thing - nowadays you can wear your wedding ring on your finger (depending on your role of course)

Is there an argument for wearing hijab in school that doesn't double as an argument against uniform? I couldn't care less what other people wear, as long as it's not too revealing, it doesn't cover the face or they've been forced to wear it (in which case, I still don't care what they're wearing, I just care that they were forced). However, schools have uniforms, and it's an unacceptable double-standard to let people go against it for religious reasons. If, for example, all students were allowed to wear a headscarf that didn't obscure the face, I wouldn't have a single problem with it, but I don't think that would be the case. Same for a beard, long hair, a small necklace, etc., as long as it remains appropriate for the activity they're taking part in (especially things like science, PE, maybe even food tech).

I just pointed out earlier up that a hijab is neither against the law, nor does it contravene uniform policy.

however, it does go against the actual uniform (which generally forbids head-coverings indoors).

Really? I went to variety of comprehensives throughout my schooling life, and we didn't have such a rule...