Muslim students should not be allowed to wear hijab (head scarf) to school for the sake of equality, a court has been told.
A school, which has been sued by Muslim parents for stopping students from wearing head scarves, defended its decision saying it did not, in any way, discriminate against the rights of the students.
Kenya High School said school uniforms were critical in promoting discipline in the student community.
“If the court allows the Muslim students to wear head scarves, this will open a can of worms for all manner of demands for wearing of ‘religious’ regalia such as turbans, buibui, ornaments and dreadlocks,” the school said in an affidavit sworn by the board of governors secretary Rosemary Saina.
The school’s response arose out of a case filed against it by Mrs Anisa Bashir. She sued the school on behalf of her daughter and 11 others over the decision by the institution to stop the students from wearinghijabs.
The students and their parents want the court to quash the school’s decision.
Also sought is an order to bar the school from interfering with the rights of Muslim students to wear hijabas a form of expression and manifestation of their rights.
