Dutch college bans covering face
Fri Nov 5, 2010 8:47AM
http://www.presstv.com/detail/149711.html
Officials in a college in the Netherlands have set a new rule for Muslim students, which allows them to cover their faces only up to their eyebrows.
The new rule that has been applied in the Gerrit Rietveld College located in the city of Utrecht has raised protests among the students in the college.
One of the members of Utrecht's city council said what happens in colleges is not always honest and students face strict rules until the age of 14.
Several days ago, one of the teachers of the school drew a line between a Muslim student's scarf and eyebrows, requiring the student to observe the new rule.
Some of the teachers have even tried to pull up the students' scarves themselves, an act that is totally insulting and is considered as violation of the students' privacy.
One of the students has reportedly been sick for four weeks due to such insulting incidents happening in the college.
A member of Amsterdam city council reacted to the news, saying he approved the rule which banned covering of the face. He stated that if such rules began to create problems then it would be better to ban Islamic hijab completely.
There have recently been many debates over Islamic veiling in the European countries leading to passage of rules which prevent Muslim women from observing their hijab the way they want.
A new rule which was passed a while ago in France considers covering of the face in public places as an offence.