The recent news that France has imposed the first Niqab fines on 2 French Muslim women who continue to wear the full-face veil despite the new law banning it, prompts us to think about the position in relation to the manifestation of religious belief in the UK.
The law appears reasonably well settled and has been consistently interpreted, but many of the well reported cases have been appealed to as high as the European Court of Justice: judgment in the case of Jivraj v Hashwani2011 UKSC 40 has been given this month by the Supreme Court.
Notwithstanding the hysterical approach adopted by the media, at large the decisions this far taken in the UK have been in line with common sense.
Significantly, but not widely reported, AishahAzmi, the British Muslim teacher who refused to remove her veil in a primary school when male colleagues were present, was told by the EAT to let her students see her face; an approach most would think in line with common sense – students should be able to see their teachers face, it was argued, and our courts have not disagreed. Certainly there is no evidence here of political correctness gone mad (much though that is what the media would prefer to report).
It is right that a proportionate response should be taken when addressing needs in the workplace, but leaving people free in their own time to do as they wish, as long as they are not harming anyone, seems to us to be far more satisfactory in today’s multicultural society than imposing fines on women.
- Anna Power, Associate
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