Imagine being sacked from your job for not wearing the religious attire of another culture and country. Two female teachers from the Islamic College of South Australia have gone to court to fight against being unfairly dismissed because they would not wear head scarves.
The teachers were sacked last year by the West Croydon school, which issued a warning to all female teachers - Muslim and non-Muslim - to wear a hijab head scarf or face the sack. The policy insists non-Muslim women to wear a head scarf, not a traditional hijab, and was installed in 1998 but dropped in 2010 by the former principal and board. It was reinstated at the start of this year with a verbal only order to staff.
While this may be school policy, it is also highly discriminatory. No one should be forced to wear the garments of a religion they are not part of and no one should be fired for refusing to do so.
Dear School Board Chairman Farouk Khan and Principal Kadir Emniyet,
Please dismiss your policy of all female teachers having to wear a head scarf or Hijab.
To be forced into conforming with anothers notions of religious correctness is discriminatory and no one should be threatened with the loss of their job because of it.
A teachers job is to teach the curriculum and no more. If non-Islamic staff members do not wish to wear an Islamic Hijab/head scarf then they should not be forced too.
Please change your discriminatory policy.
