Two more Madrid secondary schools consider banning the Islamic veil
They disguise the ban on headscarf within a general ban on wearing head coverings (hats, hoods, scarves…).
Concentration at the Narcís Monturiol Institute (Parla)
Sweet networks
[social-share align=»right» style=»button» mobile_app=»desktop»]
[social-share align=»center» style=»icon» mobile_app=»mobile»]
In Parla (Community of Madrid), there are already three educational centres where the Islamic veil (or headscarfThey are the Narcís Monturiol, Nicolás Copérnico and Humanejos institutes. It is expected that, very soon, at least a couple more adopt similar measures. The Muslim female students and the student unions do not like the decision.
The Community of Madrid maintains that public schools are autonomous and have the freedom to establish the internal rules they consider appropriate. In Catalonia, the rule against wearing head coverings exists in many schools, but it has been abolished to guarantee the use of the Islamic veil.
Demonstrations Pros and cons
Dozens of activists from the Students' Union, with the support of Podemos, held rallies and a demonstration on 26 February to demand that secondary schools allow the unrestricted use of this garment. According to the protesters, This ban is an example of ’Islamophobia» and »racism.«.
During the demonstration, the placards displayed messages such as “My headscarf, my right to education without exclusion”, “LWomen have been fighting for freedom and education for centuries, so that it does not depend on our clothing.”or“To forbid the headscarf It is racism disguised as secularism.”. The protest spokesperson said through the megaphone, «Why can't you enter with the headscarf And they can manage with little pictures of the Virgin?«
Days later, the youth movement Revuelta, linked to Vox, organised a counter-demonstration in Parla to demand that the headscarves be expelled from Spain. According to this organisation, Today it is their women who are covered up, but tomorrow it will be imposed on our daughters..
Favourable rulings for the centres
In 2010, a court in Madrid It dismissed the appeal of a family who had to change secondary schools for wearing headscarf. The judge argued that the centre had not violated his dignity.
Although school regulations did not explicitly ban Islamic garments, many schools applied the restriction indirectly by including the veil within general rules that prohibited covering the head with hats, hoods or headscarves.
The teachers at IES Monturiol have maintained that the measure has no political or religious intention, and that the ban is justified. to prevent students from using this type of device to cheat in exams. “Now they copy using discreet earpieces,” some teachers point out. They also recall that it is not anyone's individual decision but the result of a consensus that existed years ago but was subsequently abandoned.
Furthermore, they highlight that the female students with headscarf They are stripped of their authority when they ask other pupils not to wear a cap.
Movements to ban the headscarf in the classrooms
Two university professors, Sonia Sierra and Elena del Pilar Ramallo, have submitted to the Congress of Deputies a legislative proposal to regulate the use of the headscarf in educational settings and the burka in public spaces.
They argue that These pieces are «symbols of the subjugation of women».» and that its prohibition would guarantee gender equality and the protection of women's fundamental rights.
Sonia Sierra explains to The Objective that the defenders of headscarf In the classrooms, they argue that many women wear it of their own free will and that they should be listened to.«I, always in favour of freedom of expression, agree that they should be given a voice, but here's another catch: only those who claim to wear it by their own choice will speak, not those who are forced to do so.«.
Furthermore, he adds that «If I myself have received threats, even death threats, simply for proposing a legislative reform, who can believe that these women can speak freely about the oppression they suffer?«
More Perceptions of
.