Muslim Woman Wins Case against Dutch School

A Muslim woman who refuses to shake men’s hands for religious reasons cannot be barred from a teacher-training program, the Dutch anti-discrimination watchdog ruled yesterday.

The Dutch Equal Treatment Commission found that the Regional Education Center in the city of Utrecht illegally “discriminated, indirectly, on the basis of religion,” when it rejected Fatima Amghar for its program.

Amghar, 20, said her religious beliefs forbid her from having physical contact with males over the age of 12.

The school rejected her application, arguing that shaking hands was routine for a teaching assistant in Dutch society. But “there are other conceivable manners of greeting that can be considered proper and respectful,” the commission ruled.

It warned that Dutch schools risk excluding Muslim women from society unless they find a way to accommodate their beliefs.



AP