Beauty school backtracks on headscarf bias
THE INTERNATIONAL Academy of Health and Skincare has formally apologised to a student who said she was barred from writing her exams until she removed her headscarf.
The Athlone teenager, who does not want to be identified, said she felt victimised on Monday when her lecturer informed her that management had decided to “ban all headscarves” and she was to remove her headdress in order to complete her examination.
She said she feared she could not write her international examinations next month while wearing her headscarf. She had refused to remove it or tie it to the back because she said this was not in accordance with Islamic guidelines.
“I was very upset when my lecturer told me to remove my scarf. This is not the first time I was asked to remove my scarf. Our campus manager would speak through lecturers to inform me to remove my scarf and on Monday it was my last straw. I just got up and walked out – I said I would not come back,” she said.
Her father, Noor Slamdien, immediately called the campus manager, Lawrence Koekemoer, demanding answers. He felt his daughter was being discriminated against because of her religion.
She said she always made sure her headscarf matched her uniform and wore it respectfully.
Slamdien said Koekemoer was not forthcoming with acknowledging his “wrongdoing”, rather, he denied he had refused to allow the teen to write her exams because she was wearing a headscarf.
“This was not mentioned when I registered my daughter to study there. I want an apology from Koekemoer in black and white addressed to my daughter. If this is not done, I will take further steps and approach the Equality Courts,” he said.
Koekemoer said the matter had now been settled with the family. “The story has been blown out of proportion, our beauty school has been in existence for 25 years. We were the first to let any ethnicity, culture or religion in. We just wanted her headdress to match her uniform, but there was a miscommunication between management and lecturers. We are a religion neutral school.”
A letter, penned by Koekemoer, apologised for the inconvenience caused to the family, stating the issue sprung from a “miscommunication”.
“The intention was never to harm, disrespect or hurt your daughter’s feelings,” the letter read. “Never did I want to disrespect her religious convictions. This is a humble apology with regard to a lack of proper communication that caused your daughter discomfort. ”Earlier this year, the issue about wearing headscarves for religious, cultural and fashion purposes was brought to the fore after an eNCA reporter was asked to remove her doek.
The situation caused an outcry from South Africans who said the wearing of a scarf or a traditional doek was part of South Africa’s culture and heritage.