Muslim student, 18, banned from college because she refuses to remove her burkha

Posted on 24. Oct, 2009 in Featured, People

A Muslim student has been banned from enrolling at a college because she refused to remove her burkha.

Shawana Bilqes, 18, wanted to wear the garment - which covers her body and face, leaving only her eyes visible - during lessons.

But staff at Burnley College refused to enroll her, claiming the burkha was a barrier to ’safety and communication’.

In a strongly worded statement, the college said ‘unimpeded’ face to face contact between teachers and students was vital.

Miss Bilqes, who wanted to study an access course for a diploma, has now been forced to abandon her plans and is looking elsewhere to complete her studies.

Yesterday she said: ‘It is my choice to wear the veil.

‘I live around the corner from the college in an area where there are so many practicing Muslims.

‘I tried to compromise but they wouldn’t. The college sent me a letter to say I could continue with my course if I stopped wearing the veil.

‘We are in the 21st century and we get people from all walks of life. I’m in the police cadets as well and yet it’s not a problem wearing the veil there.’

John Smith, principal of the college, in Burnley, defended the actions of his staff.

He said that a student’s face must be fully visible to maintain high standards of teaching between staff and pupils, adding that it was crucial to wear photo ID around the campus for security reasons.

‘We do require all students of Burnley College to have their faces visible when at the college,’ he said.

‘We are determined to maintain the highest standards of teaching and learning. To do this effectively requires unimpeded communication from the teacher to all students, from the students to the teacher and between student and student.

‘It is not possible to maintain this essential full communication if the face of any student is not fully visible.

‘We are also determined to provide a safe environment for all our students. Central to this is that all members of the college community should be identifiable at all times.

‘To this end we require students and staff to wear a security card which displays their photograph.

‘Where individuals decline to comply, then I am afraid we cannot accommodate them.’

Controversy over the burkha was highlighted by Justice Secretary Jack Straw in 2006, when he suggested that Muslim women should abandon wearing it because it was a ‘visible statement of separation and difference’.

Mr Straw, then the Leader of the House of Commons, faced criticism from Muslim groups after disclosing that he asked women to remove their veils at meetings in his constituency office in Blackburn.

In March 2005, Shabina Begum, 16, controversially won the right to wear head-to-toe Islamic dress in the classroom

She argued that Denbigh High School in Luton breached her human rights by sending her home when she arrived wearing a burkha.

After a case costing taxpayers £70,000, three Appeal Court judges ruled the teenager’s school had acted unlawfully.

Earlier this year French President Nicolas Sarkozy spoke out, claiming the burkha reduced women to servitude and undermined their dignity.

‘It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic,’ he said. Islamic headscarves have been banned in French state schools since 2004.

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