Belgium: Headscarf girls can go to school

Belgium: Headscarf girls can go to school

All the recent 'headscarf in school' news from Belgium centered on Antwerp, but it is not the only place in Belgium which has banned the headscarf. Another such place is the Walloon town of Dison.

Currently these cases are being decided per school, and through the courts, but similarly to France, the issue will soon be decided on a regional or national level.

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Three girls with a headscarf could start attending classes in Dison (Liege, Belgium), though the school regulations ban it. Mayor Yvan Ylieff (PS), the alderman of education and the entire alderman council today gave their permission for it. the parents of the nine and ten year old girls opposed the school regulation which banned head coverings starting September 1st.

The school regulations considered a headscarf as a head covering. the mayor this morning followed a rush decision by the court in Verviers which decided on Tuesday afternoon that girls with a headscarf could go to school as long as a possible expulsion regulation is not approved. A court officer confirmed on Wednesday that the girls were still not being allowed back to school.

The Dison municipality will not appeal the decision since the motivation of the court is clear. The decision does not question the school regulation but requires that the children enter class 'with or without a headscarf', emphasizes the Dison mayor.

The alderman of education will meet with the parents on Monday morning. "But if they don't accept whole of the school regulations, it will be a reason to exclude their children," says mayor Ylieff. A decision might already be made in the next municipal council meeting on September 17.

Source: HLN (Dutch)