School forbids pupil to wear headscarf
Council steps in to discuss dress code
THE Muslim Judicial Council is in discussions with a private school in the Western Cape which recently refused to allow a Muslim pupil to wear her headscarf to school.
The council’s public relations officer, Nabeweya Malick, said it was waiting for the German International School in Cape Town to arrange a meeting to discuss its dress code.
“Whether it’s a private or public school, the constitution influences the school policy. We have taken the task to address this matter, although the pupil is no longer at the school, to avoid it becoming an issue with another pupil,” said Malick. “It is our constitutional right for Muslim women and girls to wear their headscarves at work and school.”
She said the school management had held a meeting to discuss the headscarf, this being the first time the issue had been raised. The school said it wanted to remain neutral and would not allow pupils to wear headgear or religious symbols to school. The school was not available for comment.
In a separate incident, human rights lawyer Fiona Gangat was “humiliated” and forced to remove her headscarf by a ground hostess at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg late in January. Gangat was born in South Africa and now lives in Sweden.
Speaking from Sweden, she said: “I was flying from Johannesburg to London on Virgin Atlantic. I was checking in my luggage when the hostess demanded that I remove my headscarf. I refused and she told me to leave my luggage behind and follow her to a ladies’ bathroom. A Muslim woman who was watching what was going on offered to watch my bags. In the rest room I removed my scarf. She didn’t even take a good look at me and stormed out of the room. I never saw her again.”
Gangat, 28, called her mother, who lives in Pretoria, and told her about the incident. Her mother called Virgin’s manager, who contacted Gangat before she boarded her flight. “The manager was apologetic and told me there were profilers, contracted by Virgin, who tick your name off the travel list before you proceed to the check-in counter. I was promised a thorough investigation but am still waiting,” said Gangat.
Simon Newton-Smith, regional manager for Virgin Atlantic Africa and Middle East, said in a letter to Gangat that checking documentation was an important part of airport security. “Virgin Atlantic asks that all our passengers are treated sensitively throughout this process. We regret this did not happen in this case and we have asked the supplier to investigate this matter fully,” he said.