UK girl loses fight to wear niqab at school

LONDON: London's High Court on Wednesday refused permission for the father of a 12-year-old Muslim girl to challenge a school's ban on her wearing the full-face veil, or niqab, during lessons.

The man had wanted to secure a ruling to allow him to take the school's decision to judicial review, claiming the ban breached the girl's human rights to freedom of 'thought, conscience and religion'.

His lawyers argued the ban was 'irrational' because the school previously allowed the girl's three older sisters to wear the niqab, with no objections from staff.

The case comes amid a high-profile debate about the right of Muslim women to wear the niqab in public as well as a court ruling upholding another school's ban on a pupil wearing the jilbab -- a long, loose Muslim gown -- to class.

Speaking after Wednesday's ruling by Judge Stephen Silber, lawyer Shah Qureshi said the girl and her family were 'deeply disappointed' with the decision and the judge had reached the wrong conclusions.

"It is surprising that he decided that the school had not infringed my client's freedom to manifest her religion given the fact that she entered the school on the understanding that the wearing of the veil was allowed when being taught by male teachers," he added.

The family were not extremists, he said, explaining that Islam had 'many orthodoxies' and some women considered wearing the veil compulsory when around men.

About 120 of the school's 1,300-plus pupils are Muslim and up to 60 of them wear the hijab headscarf.

It is thought that the girl -- known only as X in proceedings -- was the only pupil demanding the right to wear the niqab when being taught by male teachers or when in the presence of other male staff.

She is currently receiving tuition at home and has been offered a place at a different, mixed school which permits the niqab, but she wants to go back to her original school.

The school was backed by The Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, a philanthropic body of academics and professionals, which said not all Muslims agree with the wearing of the niqab.