Hijab ban: School suggests being Muslim and British are contradictory

London: After the St Stephen’s primary school of Newham banned hijab for girls below the age of eight and forbade Muslim students from fasting on working days during Ramadan, school’s head teacher has said that the decision is taken to integrate the pupils into British society.

“A couple of years ago I asked the children to put their hands up if they thought they were British. Very few children put up their hands. Very few thought they were British. So I thought, okay we’ve got some work to do here,” Neena Lall of St Stephen’s said.

While Arif Qawi, the head of governors, acknowledged that he was advised by clerics that pupils should fast after they reach puberty, quotes Mend.

“We are responsible for their health and safety if they pass out on campus. It is not fair to us,” he said.

The top primary school called for government’s official guidance. This move directly suggests that you can’t be Muslim and British together.

St Stephen’s School of East London had become one of the first schools in the country to ban the hijab for girls under eight in 2016 and intended to ban it for girls under 11 from September 2018.

It also imposed strict rules on Ramadan fasting, that lasts around 18 hours a day in the summer, on school premises.