School forces Muslim student to take off hijab in class

A high school in the district of Bern has forbidden a student from wearing the hijab in class, Swiss media reported.

The 14-year-old Muslim girl was sent home from her school in Thun last week after being told that wearing the hijab broke a school rule forbidding students from covering their heads, reported Le Matin.

Speaking to the paper, the school’s director said they were having “constructive discussions” with the girl’s parents and that “a solution would emerge”. But a compromise could be difficult to find since there is no legal basis for prohibiting the hijab in class.

In 2011, the Bern district government refused a proposal by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC) calling for regulation of school uniform, saying instead that schools should have the right to decide for themselves what is appropriate.

However a 2009 paper on religious and cultural traditions and symbols issued by Bern’s office of state education spells out student rights regarding clothing.