Jilbab Ruling

Published on March 3, 2005

Shabina Begum, the 16-year old British Muslim girl who took her school to court over the right to wear a full jilbab instead of the school uniform, won her appeal yesterday in London, with the judge deciding her human rights and religious freedom had been violated. Begum, who was represented by Cheri Blair, the wife […]

Shabina Begum, the 16-year old British Muslim girl who took her school to court over the right to wear a full jilbab instead of the school uniform, won her appeal yesterday in London, with the judge deciding her human rights and religious freedom had been violated. Begum, who was represented by Cheri Blair, the wife of the Prime Minister, made a political speech after her victory, claiming that she was fighting persecution and bigotry in a post-9/11 world, and that she hoped her victory would bring hope to Muslim women. Other commentators aren’t so sure, with The Telegraph pointing out that Begum attended a school that was 79% Muslim and run by a Muslim-born woman, and with some British Muslims concerned that the ruling will encourage fundamentalists and aggravate tensions between Islam and the West. The head of the school in the suit said that she’d developed a uniform after consulation with local mosques and didn’t allow the jilbab out of fear that vulnerable students would be pressured by “extremist” students into wearing the gowns themselves.

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