Labour deputy leader and Education Secretary Lucy Powell has said it is not acceptable for schools to require young girls to wear the hijab as part of their uniform, after being pressed on the issue in the Commons.
Asked by Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott whether it was acceptable for young girls to be required to wear a hijab to school as part of their uniform, Powell answered simply: “No.”
The exchange followed controversy over the uniform policy at Barnet Hill Academy in north London, an Islamic school that recently joined the state sector as a voluntary aided faith school. Its published policy had required girls from the age of seven to wear the hijab. After criticism, the school said the rule did not apply to non-Muslim pupils, and Powell told MPs the school had assured her the hijab was not compulsory — even as the policy on its website continued to describe it as required for pupils it regarded as Muslim.
Powell: ‘No’
Campaigners for children’s freedom of religion or belief welcomed Powell’s answer and urged the Department for Education to make clear to every state-funded school that religious dress codes cannot be imposed on children.
They argue that freedom of thought, conscience and religion belongs to the child, with parents guiding rather than dictating as the child grows, and that a uniform rule compelling a seven-year-old girl to wear religious dress removes that choice. They also say such rules place a “modesty” burden on girls that is not placed on boys.
Humanists UK chief executive Andrew Copson said every child should be free to decide what they believe, including about religion, and that no child should be made to follow religious dress codes by their school.
“No child should be forced to participate in religious activities against their will, whether that’s being forced to wear a religious headscarf or participate in prayer or acts of worship in school assemblies,” he said.
As a voluntary aided school, Barnet Hill Academy can also select up to 100% of pupils on religious grounds when oversubscribed — a practice long opposed by secular campaigners who want an end to new religious state schools and faith-based admissions.
