Saturday, January 20, 2007

Veil row woman challenges sacking


A Muslim classroom assistant sacked by a West Yorkshire school for refusing to take off her veil during lessons is appealing against her dismissal.
Aishah Azmi, 24, was asked to remove the veil after Headfield Church of England school in Dewsbury said pupils found it hard to understand her.
She refused and was sacked after an employment tribunal ruled that she had not been discriminated against.
Mrs Azmi has now lodged papers with the Employment Appeals Tribunal in London.
In October, an employment tribunal dismissed her three claims for discrimination and harassment, although it did agree she had been victimised by Kirklees Council, the local education authority.
She was awarded £1,100 in damages.
Religious beliefs
Mrs Azmi had said she was willing to remove her veil in front of children, but not if male colleagues were present.
The school and authority argued that pupils needed to see her face to understand what she was saying in lessons.
Mrs Azmi's lawyer Nick Whittingham, of the Kirklees Law Centre, said on Saturday that her appeal would again focus on alleged discrimination around her religious beliefs.
It was currently going through a "sifting process" before being listed for a hearing in London, which he expected to take place in the first half of this year.
Nobody at Kirklees Council was available for comment on Saturday.

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