A Stockholm woman has reported an adult education college in Spånga to the Equality Ombudsman (DO) after being told that she could not wear an Islamic headscarf in class.

The woman was told on January 15th that she was no longer welcome at Västerort Vuxengymnasium, an adult education college in Spånga, if she persisted in wearing her. The woman has now reported the matter to the Equality Ombudsman (DO) alleging discrimination.

In her report to DO dated January 20th, the woman alleges that she was told that she could not wear her niqab in class or in contact with the school’s staff. The woman explains that the school justified its decision by referring to a recent decision by the National Agency for Education Skolverket) which banned the wearing of some Muslim headscarves in class.

“But this is just a ruling, it is not a law and the ruling concerns those who wear a burqa, covering the whole face. I have a niqab which shows the area around the eyes,” the woman argued. The woman writes that she finds it “offensive” to be expelled for her “personal style” and argues that the ruling is confusing as some schools permit the niqab.

But the college’s rector, Britt-Marie Johansson, has defended the school’s right to exclude the student from classes, referring to the education agency’s ruling. “At Västerorts vux it is not allowed in the classroom to cover one’s face, with a veil or similar. This rule also applies in contact with staff. This means that neither a niqab nor a burqa can be worn.” According to Johansson, the choice facing students is thus clear. “Accept the rules stated above or discontinue your studies.”

But the student is keen to continue her studies and claims that she has offered the school a compromise. “I have said that I can sit at the front of the class, and remove the niqab during classes and to identify myself. I have even spoken to the men in the class … and they have said that it doesn’t bother them.”

The student argues that freedom of religion is enshrined in law in Sweden and this should take precedence over the education agency ruling.

The Local, 12 February 2010

Two Muslim mothers have won a court appeal against a municipal pool in Gothenburg that required them to take off their veils and body-covering clothing. The Court of Appeal for western Sweden found the City of Gothenburg guilty of ethnic discrimination and ordered the authorities to pay the women 20,000 kronor ($3,000) each in damages.

The women, Houda Morabet and Hayal Eroglu, were at the pool separately on two different occasions in April 2004, accompanying their young children but not to swim themselves. Both were wearing veils, long pants and long-sleeved tee-shirts because their religion does not allow them to reveal parts of their body in public.

In its judgment, the court said that the actions of the swimming pool lifeguards, who insisted that the women should change into tee-shirts, could be deemed discriminatory even if this had not been their intention.

The nature of Sweden’s discrimination laws mean that it was up to the City of Gothenburg to prove that the request for the women to remove some of their clothing had nothing to do with their religion. “In the view of the Court of Appeal, the City of Gothenburg did not succeed in doing this,” the court said in a statement.

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