Islamic school splitting sexes at break time ‘is apartheid’
Named at last: Islamic school that wants to gag Ofsted
SEGREGATING pupils for religious reasons harms girls’ life chances and creates ‘an apartheid’ within schools, judges in a landmark appeal case have heard.
Education watchdog Ofsted has said Muslim faith schools which separate boys and girls are guilty of sex discrimination.
The Court of Appeal is to decide whether Al-Hijrah School in Birmingham has breached equality laws by segregating pupils from the age of nine for both teaching and break times.
In the first case of its kind, the statefunded Islamic school is challenging its own critical Ofsted report, which found separating the pupils left them ‘unprepared for life in modern Britain’.
Until now, the name of the school has been kept secret – but following an appeal by the Daily Mail on Monday the anonymity order was lifted. Ofsted also found the school kept ‘offensive’ books in the library which advocated wife beating and forced sex – a fact the school is not challenging.
The case will influence whether Ofsted is able to mark down Islamic and other faith schools in future for segregating pupils – a controversial practice which campaigners say makes girls feel inferior.
Government lawyers said yesterday there were a ‘number of schools’ that would have to stop segregating, or split into single sex schools if Ofsted wins the case. Yesterday, Helen Mount-
From yesterday’s Mail field QC, representing the watchdog, said segregating pupils in a mixed sex school was against the Equality Act 2010.
She said it created ‘a kind of apartheid within one environment’ which gives girls ‘a sense that “I’m different”’. This is not the case in single sex schools, where the separation does not occur in the same environment, she reasoned.
She said segregation suggested ‘the difference between men and women is so great that they cannot be allowed to share a space’. Ofsted believes the arrangements were detrimental to both sexes because they were not being ‘ prepared for life in modern Britain’.
Miss Mountfield added: ‘ But this creates a particular detriment for females as neither male nor female pupils are socialised to regard women as normal working and social com- panions for men... in a society in which men still hold the significant majority of power.’
The initial inspection was carried out in June last year, with Ofsted concluding the school was ‘inadequate’ and needed to be put in special measures over the offensive books, the segregation and a number of other issues. The school then challenged the segregation point in a judicial review.
Mr Justice Jay ruled in their favour in November last year and agreed that segregation was not illegal. Ofsted is now seeking to overturn this ruling in the Court of Appeal.
The case continues today.