Town’s mosques join protest over pupil hijab quiz

ROCHDALE Council of Mosques is among those to have objected to a plan from Ofsted to ask young girls in primary school why they are wearing the hijab.

Along with the Manchester Council of Mosques, Stockport Muslims, Bolton Council of Mosques and Oldham Mosques Council, Muslim leaders in Rochdale have signed a joint statement saying the plan is ‘unfair and discriminatory’.

Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman announced last week that pupils wearing the veil would be questioned with their responses documented in school reports.

It comes amid concerns that some young girls were being forced to wear the headscarf by their parents.

The policy – which has been widely criticised by religious communities – was announced after Ms Spielman met with Muslim and secular campaigners who want a ban on hijabs in primary schools.

The statement also responds to claims by the Ofsted chief that wearing the hijab in a school environment ‘could be interpreted as sexualisation of young girls’.

It describes her comments as ‘completely flawed’, ‘un-British’ and ‘absurd’, arguing that although wearing the hijab is a religious practice, it is not obligatory for girls until they reach puberty, however many parents will dress their daughters in the veil to ‘accustom’ them to wearing it in later life.

The full statement from the Greater Manchester Muslim Communities was shared on the Cheadle Mosque Facebook page,

Ms Spielman said last week: “While respecting parents’ choice to bring up their children according to their cultural norms, creating an environment where primary school children are expected to wear the hijab could be interpreted as sexualisation of young girls.

“In seeking to address these concerns, and in line with our current practice in terms of assessing whether the school promotes equality for their children, inspectors will talk to girls who wear such garments to ascertain why they do so in the school.

“We would urge any parent or member of the public who has a concern about fundamentalist groups influencing school policy, or breaching equality law to make a complaint to the school.

“If schools do not act on these complaints they can be made to Ofsted directly.” ●●Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman announced primary school pupils wearing the hijab would be questioned over why they were wearing it