Belgium: Schools may not ban veils

The Council of State has scrapped the dismissal of a Muslim teacher who was fired last year for wearing a headscarf outside of the classroom. The legal body says that an individual public school or public school district may not impose a general ban on religious symbols. This was reported in De Morgen on Tuesday.

In January 2006 a Brussels school district started dismissal proceedings against two Muslim teachers. Although the school district's administration had decided in 2005 that students and teachers may not wear any religious symbols, the two teachers refused to take off their headscarves outside the classroom, even after a warning.

The two teachers filed official protests against their dismissal but their appeal was rejected by the Flemish Community on 31 July 2006. One of the teachers decided to take the matter to the Council of State. This body has now declared her dismissal unlawful.

Source: Expatica (English)


See also: Brussels: Teachers fired for wearing veil