JURIST - Paper Chase: UK court upholds right to wear Muslim dress in schools

Bangladeshi Muslim schoolgirl Shabina Begum - Reuters

[JURIST] The UK Court of Appeal [official website] ruled Wednesday that a British high school decision to exclude from school a student wearing a jilbab, a traditional Muslim gown, was unlawful because the school denied 16-year-old Shabina Begum the right to manifest her religion. In its judgment [text], the court said that the school had a right to establish a school uniform policy, but said the school has an obligation to justify any interferences with students' rights under the UK Human Rights Act [text]. BBC News has more. In France, a nationwide ban on religious symbols [JURIST report], including Muslim headscarves and turbans, has already gone into effect. The French ban has prompted a fair amount of criticism, but so far French courts have been unwilling to overturn it [JURIST report].

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