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Belgian Court throws out school’s
ban on Patka
WSN Network
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The Belgian Court has sent a clear message that it is illegal
for a school to deny education to a student because of his
religious belief. The decision is proof that Belgium respects
the freedom of religion |
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 BRUSSELS:
At a time when Americans were celebrating the spirit of Fourth of
July, a Hasselt Civil Court in Belgium overturned a ban on the
patka, the Sikh boys’ head covering, which was imposed by a state
school, KTA Domein Speelhof, on five Sikh schoolboys since 2005.
The court said
that the ban on the religious head covering was a violation of the
Sikh students’ right to manifest their religion under article 9 of
the European Convention on Human Rights, to which
Belgium is a
signatory.
In a judgment
handed down on July 4, Judge Madam H. Coenen has said that by
excluding young people because of their religious beliefs the Domein
Speelhof school in St Truiden had violated their right to practice
their faith.
On 26th May, the
Hasselt court heard evidence that in 2005, KTA Domein Speelhof
school, that had previously allowed Sikh students to wear the patka,
had introduced a uniform rule banning the wearing of any head dress,
including the patka, which affected five Sikh schoolboys, Pawandeep
Singh, 18, Jaswant Singh, 20, Parminder Singh, 17, Harjeet Singh,
14, and Sukhdeep Singh, 16.
“The Court has
sent a clear message that it is illegal for a school to deny
education to a student because of his religious belief,” said Walter
Van Steenbrugge, the lawyer hired by Sikh non-profit organization
United Sikhs and the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium to represent
the five Belgian Sikh schoolboys.
France has in
place a similar ban but Belgium has no such law. Mejindarpal Kaur,
the legal director of United Sikhs has been dealing with this case
since 2005. She said the judgment proves that Belgium respects
freedom of religion and will not tolerate a ban on religious signs
in schools in the name of a uniform policy. She also thanked the
families of the five Sikh schoolboys and the 6,000 strong Belgian
Sikh community for standing resolutely against the ban.
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Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
--US Const., Amend. 1 |
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Pawandeep Singh,
one of the students who had to leave the school because of the ban
on the patka said, “I couldn’t believe it when I was told just now
that we have won the case. I am very happy for all Sikh boys who
will now be able to wear a patka in all Belgian schools.”
The secretary of
the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of Belgium, Amarjit Kaur, said the ban
at Domein Speelhof had forced the Sikh students to travel 100 miles
everyday to attend another school or to attend school with a bare
head. The president of the Sikh Sangat Gurdwara in St Truiden,
Mohinder Singh, said, “We thank God for the outcome and are relieved
that the court has seen it right to uphold our children’s right to
obtain a sound education whilst they practice their faith.”
9
July, 2008
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