11-06-2006, 02:06 PM
Tribunal dismisses case of Muslim woman ordered not to teach in veil (October 20, 2006)
Quote:The British Muslim teacher who refused to remove her veil in a primary school when male colleagues were present lost her discrimination test case yesterday, but won £1,100 for victimisation in the way the dispute was handled.
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Kirklees welcomed the main verdicts last night as the right decision on a difficult balance between the "rights of local children to the best quality education possible and Mrs Azmi's desire to express her cultural beliefs by wearing a veil in class". In a statement, the council revealed that monitors had watched Mrs Azmi's teaching and children's responses for an agreed period before the decision to ask her to remove the covering was taken.
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Headfield has offered to reinstate Mrs Azmi provided she removes her veil while teaching.
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Outside the school this week, <b>there was virtually unanimous support for the school's stand, from British Asian parents as much as white ones. Pupils from all communities were also vociferous about some of their friends having problems understanding Mrs Azmi when she was veiled.</b>
Her refusal to uncover her face while teaching children how to speak English, was clearly affecting her job performance. She deserved to lose her job.