press release
High Court Sikh bangle decision forces schools uniform re-think
30 July 2008
A Welsh Sikh girl’s victory in the High Court over her right
to wear a religious bangle to school will have important
implications for schools when they return from the summer break
according to legal experts.
The High Court in handing down its decision
ruled that the decision to exclude Sarika Watkins-Singh from
Aberdare Girls’ High School for wearing the ‘kara’ amounted to
indirect racial discrimination.
According to legal experts at Browne Jacobson
this was critical to the claimant’s case.
Mark Blois, Head of Education at law firm
Browne Jacobson, said :
“In recent years a number of school girls have
brought legal challenges against their schools for preventing them
from wearing items which they have argued were part of their
religious faith. All these actions, based a breach of their human
rights, have been unsuccessful.
“The significance of this latest case is that
the school girl succeeded by arguing that she had been
discriminated against on grounds of race under the Race Relations
Act 1976 and on grounds of religion under the Equality Act 2006.
Her claim under the Human Rights Act failed just like those before
her.
“Schools have come to rely heavily on judicial
comment and guidance that the Human Right Act only requires
exemptions to uniform policy to be made where an item is required
to be worn as a compulsory requirement of the pupil's religion or
culture.
“That remains the case. However this latest
High Court action shows that in some cases there are other legal
pitfalls for schools to negotiate in applying school uniform
policies. Specifically it shows that in order to avoid racial or
religious discrimination there exists a relatively low threshold
after which the legal rights of their pupils will be engaged.
“Schools will need to give careful
consideration to the suitability of uniform policy exemptions where
they are sought by pupils on grounds of identity and
faith.”
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