Swiss Court Supports School Hijab

A Swiss court has overturned a ban imposed earlier by a school in the northeastern canton of Saint Gallen on Islamic hijab worn by a 13-year-old girl, labeling the ban as unjustified.

The court said the ban on hijab was “disproportionate”, The Local.ch reported on Thursday, November 13, quoting SDA news agency.

The decision was issued by the court in Saint Gallen canton against the ban imposed on hijab or Islamic headscarf.

The judge agreed with the argument of the girl’s lawyer who saw the ban as contradicting with freedom of religion, protected by federal and cantonal law, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights.

The court added that there was no evidence that wearing hijab caused any problems in the school or affected the teen's integration in the class.

Such a ban would only be justified if it became “a serious threat to the religious peace,” the court said.

For Muslims, hijab is not a symbol, but rather an obligatory dress code for Muslim women.

According to the CIA Factbook, Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims, representing 5 percent of the country’s nearly eight million people.

Source: On Islam