Arabiyya students' parents seek court order against face veil ban
The petitioners have asked the civil court for an interim injunction against the education ministry's regulation which bans face veil to school.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
Parents of Arabiyya school students who wear face veils to school on Sunday moved the Civil Court challenging the education ministry's directive not to do so.
The case of students going to school wearing face veil has come to the fore in the past. In December, the school had sent a request to the education ministry seeking its opinion, asking them to take a decision on the matter.
This was submitted to the education ministry by Hussain Saeed, principal of Iskandhar School, who took over Arabiyya in November.
In the case, the education ministry concluded that face veils were not part of the Arabiyya School dress code. Therefore, it has been advised that going to school in niqab is prohibited.
Not satisfied with the education ministry's decision, a statement issued by parents who filed the case at the court said that students attending Arabiyya who do not want to come out in public showing their faces were going to school wearing face veil with permission from the school.
However, according to the statement of the protesting parents, Arabiyya students are being hindered by the General Rules of School Students Act issued by the education ministry, and the case has been filed in the Civil Court seeking a "decisive verdict".
The statement further said that until the court decides the matter in a certain way, it will seek an interim injunction against the education ministry and Arabiyya School orders, which prohibits students from attending school in niqab.
The case has been filed in the court highlighting several points under the Education Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POC) Act and UDHR, the CRC, SEADO and the United Nations Convention on Economic and Social Rights. According to the lawsuit, under the treaties that the Maldives has participated in, no child can be deprived of education and policies cannot be formulated to exempt any child from education.
Claiming that wearing a face veil is accepted by the society and it is common practice to wear a headscarf, the petitioners said that children who wear face veils have the right to attend school and learn like other children. In addition, the petitioners had said:
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The government has not established a school in the Male area where the school's uniform code is designed so that students can wear face veil to school. If they are not allowed to go to school wearing face veil, there is no other school where they can go and that will deprive them of studies and other rights
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While the government has the power to frame uniform codes for schools and make general regulations, such policies and regulations should not deprive any minority group of their right to education
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The government discriminates against children living in Arabiyya, which leads them away from education and affects their studies and mental health. The petitioners has also sought a direction to the court to resolve the issue
