JEDDAH: A British school has come under fire after it announced plans for a “swimming cap” style headscarf to be introduced to its uniform as part of its new veil policy.
About 150 people signed a petition demanding the school’s head teacher re think the design, arguing that the cap was too short and therefore did not protect a girl’s modesty at all, British website MailOnline reported.
The parents also argued that the garment posed a potential suffocation risk, if a fellow student pulled it back.
The previous rule at John Thursby Community College, in Burnley, north England was that the scarf had to be black, but there were no restrictions regarding the length and style that girls were allowed to wear.
Some parents have suggested they believe the cap was suggested in a way to eventually stop the headscarf being worn in the school at all.
Local Councilor Shah Hussain has backed the concerns of parents, stating: “The whole point is that it is supposed to protect the wearer’s modesty, and that does not happen.”
Now the school’s head teacher, David Burton, has written to parents admitting the design will likely be altered.
“We are sorry there have been suggestions that the school is against headscarves… This is not true. We respect fully the wishes of girls to wear a headscarf and we always have done.” Burton wrote in the letter to parents.
Other schools have previously found themselves in the spotlight over controversial headscarf policies.
A Roman Catholic school made the headlines in January when it told the parents of a four-year-old Muslim girl that she could not wear any form of headscarf at all.
The head teacher on that occasion argued that veils were not part of the school’s strict uniform policy, and asked parents to respect it.
