UK school forced to reverse hijab ban

Arif Qawi, the chair of governors of the school who had recently called on the UK government to take a firm stand on young children wearing the hijab and fasting during Ramadan, resigned from his post on Friday.

By: PTI | London | Published: January 21, 2018 6:37 pm

The Department for Education said it is a matter for individual schools to decide how to “accommodate children observing Ramadan, and to set uniform policies”. (Representational Image)

One of the UK’s leading state-funded schools which had hit the headlines as one of the first to impose a ban on the hijab for girls under eight has been forced to reverse its decision after widespread criticism. St Stephen’s School in Newham, east London, had been planning to extend the ban to girls under 11 later this year but has chosen to withdraw the plans.

“The school’s uniform policy is based on the health, safety and welfare of our children. The school has taken the decision to make changes to this policy with immediate effect and this follows on from conversations with our school community,” the school said in a statement. “We will work with our school community to continue to review this policy going forward in the best interests of our children,” it adds.