St Stephen's of London became the first schools in the country to ban the hijab for girls
St Stephen's of London became the first schools in the country to ban the hijab for girls
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One of Britain's famous state-funded school St Stephen's has urged the government to take a solid stand on children wearing hijab and fasting during Ramadan.St Stephen's School in Newham, east London, became one of the first schools in the country to ban the hijab for girls under eight in 2016 and intends to prohibit it for girls under 11 from September 2018.

It also forced strict rules on Ramadan fasting, a ritual that lasts around 18 hours a day in the summer, on school premises.The school, with a majority of pupils from Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi backgrounds and headed by Indian-origin principal Neena Lall wants the British government to issue clear guidelines on the issue to prevent a response from parents.

The administrative division should step up and take it out of our hands and tell every school this is how it (fasting) should be. The same for the headscarf, it should not be our decision. It is unfair to teachers and very unfair to governors. We are unpaid. Why should we get the backlash," Arif Qawi, chairman of governors at St Stephen's School, told The Sunday Times'.

He said that despite unfavorable judgment from a few families, some parents were happy with the school's attitude on fasting.

 

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