Plan to question girls on why they wear hijab branded ‘wrong-headed’

SCHOOL INSPECTORS will ask girls wearing a hijab at primary school why they don the Islamic headscarf, the head of Ofsted has said.

Amanda Spielman, the watchdog’s chief inspector, said making it obligatory for Muslim children to wear a headscarf in primary schools could be seen as sexualising young girls, with the hijab and other coverings worn as a symbol of modesty.

The move comes after she met campaigners from the Social Action and Research Foundation on Friday.

But the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said the policy of questioning young girls was “deeply worrying” and “wrongheaded”.

Research by the National Secular Society in September suggested some 42 per cent of Islamic schools, including 27 primary schools, in England have a uniform policy which states a headcovering is compulsory.

Ms Spielman said: “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.”

But MCB Secretary General Harun Khan said: “It is deeply worrying that Ofsted has announced it will be specifically targeting and quizzing young Muslim girls who choose to wear the headscarf. It sends a clear message to all British women who adopt this that they are second-class citizens, that while they are free to wear the headscarf, the establishment would prefer that they do not.”