Muslim mother takes legal action against school over face veil ban

The Guardian reports that Rachida Serroukh, a 37 year old Muslim mother of three, is taking legal action against Holland Park School in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, after being told she could not wear a veil inside the premises.

The woman was taken to a room during a welcome event for new pupils, and was told that it was the school’s policy not to allow face veils on school’s premises. “I was already feeling uncomfortable because I had to leave my daughter standing on her own”, she said, “As the teacher was female, I lifted my veil when we were talking together in the room”. She also added that the head teacher said in his speech to new parents that the school was secular and offered no prayer rooms, despite showing video footage of the school choir singing in a church.

Serroukh promptly explained that her daughter would not be wearing the veil, only to realise that the teacher was talking about her and not her daughter. Following the conversation, she was asked to leave through the back exit.

“I was very shaken and was in a state of shock about what had happened,” she said. “I had never experienced anything like this before. I have experienced name calling in the street from strangers about my veil but nothing like this had ever happened before. When I got home, I just broke down.”

Her solicitor, Attiq Malik of Liberty Law Solicitors, considered it a straightforward case of discrimination: “The government constantly talks about British values. To me, those values include diversity and multiculturalism. If a school in London is doing this, what might be happening elsewhere?”