Saturday, January 28, 2017
This file photo shows a young Muslim woman wearing a headscarf. (Photo by AFP)
A judge in the Czech Republic has rejected a complaint lodged by a young Muslim woman banned from wearing hijab to school.
Ayan Jamaal Ahmed Nuur, a Somali refugee who was banned from covering her head at the school where she was a nursing science student, sought an apology and financial compensation from the school administration for religious discrimination against her.
Judge Daniela Cejkova at the court in the capital, Prague, rejected her request.
Cejkova declared that Nuur's suit that sought "an apology and 60,000 crowns ($2,350) in compensation was dismissed."
"The plaintiff is not entitled to another [appeals] court," the judge stated.
The controversial verdict against the young woman's hijab came despite there being no official ban on such a practice in the Czech Republic.
Ivanka Kohoutova, the school's principal, claimed putting on headwear was unhygienic for nursing students, and violated the nurses' job safety standards.
The school principle also argued that the plaintiff was never officially registered at the school and failed to submit the necessary documentation despite living in the country for years and being granted asylum status in 2011.
The Czech Republic is a secular country with a small Muslim community of only 10,000 to 20,000 members. It has no law covering the wearing of religious garments.
However, all across the European Union, xenophobic sentiments have been surging following the 2015-16 refugee crisis across Europe.
Czech President Milos Zeman, a notorious anti-refugee advocate, claimed last year that it was "practically impossible" to integrate the Muslim community into European society.
The European Court of Justice, however, has made the issue crystal clear by ruling it against the law to discriminate against women for wearing the headwear recommended by religious order.
The veiling of the head by women is common practice among many world religions, including Christianity.
Mother Teresa, known in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, wore headwear similar to Muslim women's hijab. All nuns in the Catholic Church use headwear.