Consultation process for Niqab/jilbab in schools

The government is proposing a set of guidelines for schools on the matter of school uniform. This seems to be as a direct result of the litigation that has been levied against some schools by Muslims.
The proposed paper seems to be very inclusive, reminding schools of their responsibility to be fair and reasonable, and to be mindful of people's religious or racial issues. However, the situation currently is that schools are free to decide their own uniform policies. So although you may have heard of some schools banning Muslim girls from wearing the jilbab or the niqab (face veil) there are also a number of schools that are happy to accommodate for such dress. Therefore currently there is already a great deal of flexibility for Muslims. The governments proposed guidelines are worrying, as even though they are not statutory or binding, they are to apply nationwide. This may provide grounding for schools to object who may previously not have done so as they did not have the money nor the confidence to opt for litigation in such an open field. By the government narrowing the boundaries of these fields, then this potentially removes the flexibility enjoyed by Muslims in some schools.
Regardless of what ones opinion is on the issue of niqab, we should all realise that an erosion of any rights of a Muslim, no matter how trivial or reasonable one may think it is, is a dangerous road to the erosion of many more significant or even all rights of Muslims. This is not a sinister evaluation of the future but one that has been supported by examples such as France or even Turkey.

PROPOSED ACTION PLAN:

The government is providing an opportunity for people to object. It is important to note that the government had proposed a previous home office consultation paper which proposed shutting down mosques associated with "extremism" but this was rejected after the consultation was heavily criticized by Muslim groups, not just in the media but by written responses to the actual consultation.
Therefore it is imperative that we add our voices to the arguments about School uniform, not least because it affects Muslim students (who are not always able to best defend themselves) as recent litigation will testify.
Below you will find the relevant parts of the proposed paper and possible arguments against it.
There are a few ways to lodge a complaint before the 12th of June 2007 which is the closing date for the consultation paper:
1] Please try to log on to the website and lodge your complaint. Here you will find that you are asked to respond to set questions with spaces to add your own comments.
Or
2] Alternatively, (especially if you are an organisation), please try to formulate and write an objection (possibly using the arguments below) to the postal address provided.
Jacqueline Mclean
Department for Education and Skills
2F Area A
Mowden Hall
Staindrop Road
Darlington
DL3 9BG
3] You can also email your complaints to [ [email protected] ]

POSSIBLE ARGUMENTS AGAINST SOME OF THE POINTS MENTIONED IN THE CONSULTATION PAPER

"1.2 What should a school do?The essential point is that schools should act fairly and reasonably, bearing in mind their duties under the Human Rights Act 1998 and anti-discrimination legislation which are explained below. We strongly recommend that in setting their uniform and appearance policies they:
� document the consultation process undertaken, the points made by respondents, and the decisions taken in weighing up competing points of view. The school might decide that the needs of individual groups are outweighed by factors such as:
security: schools need to be able to identify individual pupils in order to maintain good order and identify intruders easily;"

To which we might say:
- There are ways of ensuring the safety of the school and the identification of students. Students could be asked to wear special name badges, or other items to truly identify themselves.

- Veiled Muslim women, for example, have no objection to upholding security and are more than willing to co-operate in this respect. This is not a difficult task as it occurs on a daily basis in places such as airports where security and identity checks are paramount. Veiled women have an interest in upholding security as much as any other citizen for insecurity will affect us all.

- Veiled women are not inconspicuous; they stand out quite distinctly from people. Therefore the veil cannot be used to mask ones identity successfully in terms of them being inconspicuous as one anticipates that a 'hoodie' or other fashionable trends might tend to. Schools have regular contact with students and for the reasons mentioned then it would prove almost impossible for an impostor to enter school grounds and threaten security whilst pretending to be a veiled student. A veil does not conceal the identity of a person, it merely mitigates facial features.
"� teaching and learning: if a pupil's face is obscured for any reason, the teacher may not be able to judge their engagement with learning, and to secure their participation in discussions and practical activities;"
To which we may say:
- Body language and intonation play a greater role in communication, especially in a classroom setting where there are over 25 students sitting at tables, not necessarily facing the teacher, than any facial expressions which could be missed.

- Teachers deal with unenthused students on a daily basis, but are still able to engage them in class. It is also evident from a student's response to prompt questions (offered by teachers as a means of assessing the child's attention in class) whether they are paying attention.

- Furthermore, the veil is not a hindrance to communication, but rather a means by which a Muslim woman may feel she is free to express her mind at ease. The veil is not a 'gag' to prevent her from speaking but rather a means by which she feels able to express her thoughts, ideas and participate in discussion with confidence (that she is not being judged for her physical qualities for instance.) The perception that the veil is a tool to subjugate the woman into submissiveness and thereby create a person prevented from thinking or indeed speaking their mind is not a perception shared by veiled women at all. It is in fact quite the opposite.
"� protecting young people from external pressure to wear clothing they would not otherwise choose to adopt, protecting them from harassment, and from having to adopt dress codes associated with extreme or antisocial elements in the wider community, including styles and colours of clothing associated with gangs."

To which we might say:
- It would be wrong to imply that the face veil or jilbab is something enforced upon girls rather than being a matter of choice. This is contrary to the practise of niqab or jilbab especially amongst the youth today. It is a matter of choice, and should a girl be forced to wear the niqab for instance by (male?) members of her family she is perfectly at liberty to remove it whilst at school and away from the gaze of her family and indeed without them ever needing to know. So this implicit assumption has offending tones in this context.

- There is also an implicit assumption that there are some value judgments attached to wearing the niqab or jilbab and that some students may feel they are being made to feel irreligious for abandoning the religious commitment by not wearing it. Again this assertion is absurd. The same could be said for the headscarf, or the turban for Sikhs (especially amongst Sikh girls who opt to wear this religious headgear and are allowed to wear it to school even though the vast majority of Sikh girls do not adhere to this). Furthermore simply by having a provision within uniform guidelines does not make it an obligation. And to assert that by allowing for such a provision it would inadvertently bring on this pressure would be far fetched and unreasonable to say the least.

- It would also be wholly wrong to develop a connection with the face veil and 'more extremist ideology' as this has never been understood to be the case by the Muslim community. The women who choose to wear the veil do so as a matter of piety, not as a statement of an extremist interpretation of Islam. Indeed you will find Muslims of many different denominations, such as various groups within the Sunni and Shia groups adhering to the practice of veiling the face, so the assertion that it is a minority extremist interpretation of Islam is unfounded and rather absurd.

"1.7 Human Rights issuesThe Human Rights Act 1998 protects the right to "manifest one's religion or beliefs".
However, schools should note that the freedom to manifest a religion or belief does not mean that an individual has the right to manifest their religion at any time, in any place, or in any particular manner. A pupil might have the opportunity to attend a school whose uniform policy can accommodate his or her requirements: this will ensure that his/her religious beliefs are catered for even though the school may not be the one preferred for other reasons. Even if an alternative school is not available, a school uniform policy that restricts the freedom of pupils to manifest their religion may still be lawful, so long as this interference with pupils' rights is justified on grounds specified in the Human Rights Act. These include health, safety and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This has been confirmed in two recent court cases"

To this we might say:
- Though it seems reasonable that a student should move to another school if they have a preferred religious dress code that can not be accommodated within their existing school, it seems as if there is some sort of implicit indirect discrimination levied against the student in question. For if the grounds for restricting their freedom to manifest their religion or beliefs must be within the remit of the Human Rights Act, it would be applicable in almost all circumstances. How can they possibly vary so greatly from one school to another especially when we are talking about potential schools being within the same locality; one objecting whilst the other accommodating? It seems rather dubious for the guidelines to be happy to adopt this position.

"� In fulfilling their obligations, schools may have to balance the rights of individual pupils against the best interests of the school community as a whole. Where schools have good reasons for restricting an individual's freedoms, for example, to ensure the effective delivery of teaching and learning, the promotion of cohesion and good order in a school, the prevention of bullying, or genuine health and safety or security considerations, then the restriction of an individual's rights to manifest their religion may be justified."

As for their statement:
"to ensure the effective delivery of teaching and learning:"
To this we might say:
- (arguments as above): This may be referring to the face veil, however it does not account for the circumstances in which a face veil is worn. The student would only assert the right to wear her face veil when taught by a male member of staff. Secondly, in wearing the veil (when taught by male staff) she would feel freer to participate in classroom activity and discussions and express herself with confidence. Again this comes down to the way the teacher perceives the face veil. If they feel that it is a mark of separation and a rejection of interaction then the interaction between student and teacher will be hampered and thus effective communication will also be hampered. However if the teacher understands that the niqab is a means of engaging in communication then they will be able to overcome any perceived obstacles.

- Again this is something that is easily picked up from intonation of voice and body language than from mere facial expressions. Teachers deal with unenthused students on a daily basis, but are still able to engage them in class. It is also evident from a student's response to prompt questions (offered by teachers as a means of assessing the child's attention in class) whether they are paying attention.
As for their statement:
"or genuine health and safety or security considerations,"
To this we might say:
- Again the same arguments apply as mentioned above in relation to security.

Dear Muslims,

This issue is a very current debate and a good starting point to get involved. There is very little official objection to the practise of Muslims, especially the female dress, so there is great room for us to move in and educate people about the variety that Islam can accommodate for. Our inactivity in many issues has resulted in the official bodies consulting Muslim organisations who are sometimes more interested in self preservation, than relaying the truth. Often they are not equipped with the knowledge, either islamically or even legally to realise the ramifications of any 'advice' they offer on Islamic matters. Thus, we need to act now before things change and an open official objection to anything from our beloved religion is allowed.

Wasalaamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

Umm Safiyyah.