Parents of a nine-year-old Muslim girl in Britain have dragged a Greek orthodox school to court for banning her from wearing a headscarf.
The parents believe it would be a sin for their daughter's head to be uncovered in the presence of male teachers because she has reached puberty.
The couple has applied to the High Court in an attempt to force the school the only one of its kind in the country to reverse its ban on their daughter wearing a hijab.
The girl's parents were so incensed at the decision that they have pulled their child out of St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy, in Thornton Heath, the Daily Mail reported.
The school, however, is determined to fight attempts to overturn the ban on the pupil wearing a hajib.
Head teacher Kate Magliocco said the uniform policy was made clear to the parents when the girl arrived in Year 3.
It was not until she moved into Year 5 in September last year that they wanted their daughter to start wearing a hijab, a traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women which represents the Islamic principle of modesty.
‘The decision not to allow her to wear a headscarf was taken by the governing body. The school has a very particular uniform policy which is shared with parents and, as head, I must follow the plan,’ Magliocco said.
The parents believe it would be a sin for their daughter's head to be uncovered in the presence of male teachers because she has reached puberty.
The couple has applied to the High Court in an attempt to force the school the only one of its kind in the country to reverse its ban on their daughter wearing a hijab.
The girl's parents were so incensed at the decision that they have pulled their child out of St Cyprian's Greek Orthodox Primary Academy, in Thornton Heath, the Daily Mail reported.
The school, however, is determined to fight attempts to overturn the ban on the pupil wearing a hajib.
Head teacher Kate Magliocco said the uniform policy was made clear to the parents when the girl arrived in Year 3.
It was not until she moved into Year 5 in September last year that they wanted their daughter to start wearing a hijab, a traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women which represents the Islamic principle of modesty.
‘The decision not to allow her to wear a headscarf was taken by the governing body. The school has a very particular uniform policy which is shared with parents and, as head, I must follow the plan,’ Magliocco said.